


Keeping Promises

by WritingTheInserts



Series: Golden Girl and Keeping Promises [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A lot - Freeform, Do you know how many words 2 years produces?? on TWO SERIES??, F/M, good lord uploading all of this has been a freaking nightmare, help me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 62,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24623215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritingTheInserts/pseuds/WritingTheInserts
Summary: A shy and quiet girl makes a promise that she never thought she would have to keep but soon realizes that this promise is the least of her worries. Can she truly be of help? Is she of any use to her beloved Senior?This goes on at the same time as Golden Girl, at the start of the second year for the main cast.
Relationships: Tendou Satori/Reader
Series: Golden Girl and Keeping Promises [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777216
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So there is gonna be a lot of shorthands in this that some of you may not recognize due to the fact that they're all of my own. 
> 
> Since this is a spin-off series for Golden Girl, I recommend that you read that as well to understand the plot, but these are written so that you don't have to read Golden Girl if you do not want to. 
> 
> So! let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? 
> 
> (Name)- Your name, particularly your given name. 
> 
> (L/Name)- Last name, or your family name. 
> 
> (F/F)- Favorite flavor
> 
> (F/Animal)-Favorite animal
> 
> (S/Name)- Senior or Senpai given name, otherwise known as the protagonist in Golden girl. 
> 
> (S/L/Name)- Senior or Senpai Last name, or family name. 
> 
> (SF/F)- Senior or Senpai's favorite flavor 
> 
> If you are ever confused, please refer back to this page, but most of the time context clues should queue in what the shorthand is for.

"Hey, I'll keep this promise if you promise to date me in high school!"

"GEH?"

That's how this all started right? Because (L/name) was concerned about her senior. She loved (S/Name)-senpai. (S/Name)-senpai meant the world to her.

"I hope he doesn't make you keep that promise (Name)-chan." A tall, orange-haired boy sighed. His annoyed face showed slight concern for his friend.

"I think I'll be okay Taichi-kun." She laughs nervously. The other boy, let out an even larger sigh.

"I hope he doesn't recognize you next year Taichi-kun and begin pestering you about (Name)-chan! You're playing volleyball, aren't you?" the boy known as Taichi groaned.

"Yeah, (S/Name)-senpai would be pissed at me if I wasted all that effort. She'd probably hunt me down."

"Scary..." (Name) commented. The blond-haired boy nods

"Yeah, You never stood a chance against (S/Name)-senpai. She'd throw you farther than you are tall Taichi-kun!" The blond began to laugh.

"Shut up Itsuki! You only know (S/Name)-senpai because of me! You don't even play volleyball! Also! You're betraying us next year and moving to Tokyo! How could you leave (Name)-chan behind!" Taichi bites back. Itsuki's vein pops as he becomes angry. These boys were as close as close could be, but man could they bicker.

"You think I want to leave (Name)-chan behind? It's not my decision!" He sighs. "Man, that was a low blow dude, even for you. You guys will come to my basketball games at some point, right?" (Name) nods

"Of course, I promise to go to at least one!"

"If (Name)'s going, then I have to go with her, who knows what creeps might try and take advantage of her in Tokyo!" (Name) sweats.

"Just make sure you actually protect her, doofus!" Itsuki pouted. Taichi became heated again.

"Make sure you win enough games for us to actually see, doofus!" Taichi bit back. (Name) sighs. Both boys whip around to check on the little (Name). "Everything okay?" Taichi asks in a softer tone. (Name) jumped slightly as she raised her hands up.

"Yes! I'm fine! Don't worry about me! You guys have enough to worry about," she laughed nervously. They were always worried about (Name). She was a super genius and moved up a year, so she was younger than most of the other 3rd years in Shiratorizawa's junior high. She embraced the fact that she was younger, and often let herself indulge in childish things. Her innocent and sweet personality drew her to (S/Name)-senpai's motherly personality. Taichi and Itsuki couldn't help but want to treat her like a baby sister.

"If you say so." Taichi continues "By the way Itsuki, what school are you going to again? You said they only recently became strong, right?"

"Seirin, and yeah, but I heard they have a Generation of Miracles player as a 3rd year next year! They also won the winter cup nationals last year!"

"I have no idea what a "Generation of Miracle" is or whatever, and I'm sure (Name)-chan doesn't either..." (Name) sheepishly shook her head.

"Of course you don't! Doofus!" There it was. There was about to be another 'doofus' off. (Name) decided to catch one of their attention before they became completely enthralled in their argument. "Huh? What is it (Name)-chan?" She then turned and showed her bag

"Before you guys start arguing again, could you grab a snack from my bag?" She asks sweetly. Taichi obliged and unzipped her bag. He had no problem digging through her stuff. He then pulled out her box of (F/Flavor) pocky. (Name) gave them both a big smile as she thanked them. Taichi zipped up the bag and handed it to her.

"Don't eat it too fast, okay (Name)-chan?" Itsuki told her. She gave them a sweet smile as she began to chew on her treat. Taichi sighed. He can't let Tendou anywhere near her. Not when she's this sweet. What if he hurt her? Both boys had fully calmed down at that point.

"Hey, Taichi-kun" She lifted her head from her snack "I'll try and come to every one of your games."

"Just keep out of he who cannot be named's sight. He might make you keep that promise." Taichi gave a hesitant smile. Itsuki nodded. It pained him that he wouldn't be there to protect her.

"He can only make me keep that promise if he made friends with (S/Name)-senpai, so it would be worth it in the end" (Name) smiled as she looked down at her snack. Taichi and Itsuki grimace at one another. (Name) really didn't know Tendou that well, did she? "Anyways, we should get moving right?" she skipped down the hall and smiled brightly back at both of them. "We have homework to do, so lets head to the library! Yeah?" Itsuki and Taichi gave each other a look before following little (Name).


	2. Reunited

Graduation came faster than any of them would have liked. As they held their diplomas, they stared at one another.

"You better take good care of (Name)-chan! If I find a single scratch on her..." Itsuki held back tears as he bantered with his best friend face to face for the last time in a while.

"You'll what?! You'll cry on me!?" Taichi yelled back as he held back his own tears. (Name) held nothing back. She let her tears flow down her face as she said goodbye to Itsuki. They both looked at the girl with painful looks. There was nothing they could do to stop her crying.

"I'll text you often, okay (Name)-chan? I promise! I'll even call!" Itsuki gave her a bright smile.

"Hey! What about me you ass!" Taichi's tears finally fell as he yelled at his friend.

"Oh, yeah, I'll send you a letter maybe." Itsuki joked and smiled at Taichi. Itsuki's tears began as soon as Taichi's did. They both then looked at little (Name)-chan. Her crying was becoming worse by the second.

"(Name)-chan! Hey! It's okay! It's not like we're dying!" Taichi began wiping (Name)'s left eye while Itsuki wiped the right

"Yeah! We'll all be together real soon! I promise!" (Name)'s hiccuping as she calmed down attracted some attention of passersby's, some attempted to approach and see if the young girl was alright, but Itsuki and Taichi waved them off. (Name) was fine as long as she was with them.

As they arrive at the train later that day, Itsuki let out a big sigh as he looked back on his friends. Poor (Name)'s eyes were all red and puffy. She's been crying all day, and no amount of consoling would calm her down. Taichi said he would take her to ice cream after Itsuki left, but that only soothed her slightly. Itsuki stood on the platform as the train's doors hung wide open. He gave one last big hug to the little sister he never had and bickered once more with the asshole he called a brother.

"Keep (Name) safe!"

"Nothing will harm a hair on her head!" Taichi gave him a thumbs-up as Itsuki boarded the train. His parents were already in Tokyo setting up their new apartment, so all he had was a small bag of things he had kept in his dorm.

"Be good (Name)-chan! Keep your grades up!" He waved from the inside of the train. "You better win Taichi! If I find out you lost I'm never gonna let you live it down!"

"Same goes for you!" Taichi yells as the train doors shut. Itsuki moves to a window to wave goodbye. The train comes to life as it slowly begins to accelerate towards Tokyo.

Taichi and (Name) leave the train station with a hole in their hearts, but know that they'll see Itsuki again someday.

"Let's go get that ice cream, okay (Name)-chan?" (Name) nodded at her friend. It broke Taichi's heart to see (Name) like this. Her usual happy face was painted with sadness. Taichi gave her a small smile before patting her back. "I'm sure that idiot can't go a day without calling you (Name)-chan. You'll hear from him soon." (Name)'s head shot up. Her eyes were full of light and glittering with anticipation.

"You think?"

"I know the doofus!" (Name) laughed. It was like Itsuki didn't leave. "Anyways, you gotta be a strong girl, okay? Just like (S/Name)-senpai."

"Right! And big girls don't cry!" (Name) then smacks her cheeks with both her palms. Taichi jumped. He reached a hand out to check on her, but her face was engulfed with a new, cute resolve. "Okay! Let's get ice cream!"

"Who did you learn to do that from..." Taichi sighed as he walked by (Name). As they enter the shop, Taichi notices some Shiratorizawa high schoolers looking at the new flavors.

"Which one do you think (S/Name) wants?"

"Wakatoshi-kun would be a better one to ask on that..."

"Hayato-san, you're no help! I thought you texted (S/Name) about what flavor she wanted!"

"That was YOUR job, not mine!"

"Do they know (S/name)-senpai?" (Name) questions as she tilts her head. Suddenly the ears of one of the Shiratorizawa boys perk up. He turns his head and bores his red eyes into (Name)'s. Taichi begins to freak out.

It's Tendou. Taichi was about to split with (Name), but Tendou rushes over to her and grabs her hands.

"It's you!" he exclaims as he puts his face in real close to (Name)'s. Her face explodes into red. Tendou then turns his head to his fellow volleyball students "hey guys! It's the girl that promised to date me if we became friends with (S/Name)!" he then swooped in for a kiss, but Taichi caught his head before he made contact. (Name)'s whole body began to turn red. Great, at all times for that damn Itsuki to leave for Tokyo, it's when Tendou shows up.

"Satori, I don't think that boy appreciates you trying that here..." a boy with ash tips says as he reaches out for Tendou's shoulder.

"I don't appreciate you trying that ANYWHERE!" Taichi looked over at (Name). She was immobilized, probably not by the physical strength of Tendou, but more than likely embarrassment or being flushed.

"But what about our daaaate!" (Name)'s eyes snapped wide open as she finally realized who this boy was.

"You... you're (S/name)-senpai's friend?" Tendou's face exploded into bliss as she spoke in her soft voice. She was so cute!

"Yup, so are those guys over there! (S/Name)'s a really close friend." Tendou kept pressing against Taichi's hands in an attempt to get close to (Name). (Name) looked up at the boys and tilted her head.

"Will you give it up already!" Taichi said in an annoyed tone as he kept pushing against Tendou's head.

"Satori, can you wrap it up? I'm worried about (S/Name), Wakatoshi texted me saying her fever hasn't gotten much better." (Name)'s eyes widened. Were these boys taking care of her? Tendou whipped his head out of Taichi's grasp and looked back at the shorter brown-haired boy.

"Really!? Oh jeez, just pick up vanilla the-" Tendou was interrupted by a pair of lips on his cheek. Taichi choked.

"(N-N-NAME)-CHAN!?" He yelled.

"She likes (SF/F)." (Name) provided. Tendou continued to stare at (Name) with her hands in his.

"We're going to a different shop, let's go (Name)-chan" Taichi grabbed (Name)'s arm and dragged her out. Tendou was frozen.

"Satori?" The boy with ash tips questioned. "Hayato got (SF/F) like the girl said, let's go." Tendou stayed frozen "Satori!" The boy became aggravated. "Tendou!"

"Just grab him and go, we gotta get this back before it melts!" Hayato exclaims and grabs one arm of the stunned redhead. The angry boy grabbed the other and they both began to pull their stunned friend out of the shop with a bag of ice cream, cough medicine, and a few medical masks.


	3. Application

"You really didn't have to do that (Name)-chan." Taichi sighed as he sat with (Name) and her frozen treat.

"He kept his promise." Taichi clicked his tongue. "He's also taking care of (S/Name)-senpai apparently. A kiss on the cheek is a small way of thanking him for doing that."

"You're too innocent (Name)-chan." the annoyed redhead leaned forward "What if he asks for more?" (Name) shrugged.

"By the way Taichi-san, when are tryouts for the volleyball team?"

"Already did them. I'm getting a sports scholarship." (Name) smiled brightly at her friend and pseudo-brother. 

"That's great! That means we both have a scholarship!"

"Yeah but yours is because you're a super genius," Taichi smirked as he sipped the milkshake he ordered. "Are you going to continue volleyball? I know you were pretty shaken up without (S/Name)-senpai."

(Name)'s delicate fingers froze over her treat, contemplating carefully what Taichi had said. "... I don't know, Taichi. It wasn't the same without her..." She took another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. Taichi's eyes never left her. "Besides, I don't even know if I'll even make the team. I'm not very powerful."

Taichi shifted subtly as he fidgetted with the straw that pierced the top of his sugary drink" What about setter? You could be a setter."

(Name) furrowed her brow as she gave another excuse. "Taichi, I don't have the instinct. I'm nothing like (S/Name)-senpai."

Taichi sighed as he patted her shoulder. "I get it. At least tell (S/Name)-senpai when you see her next." (Name) nodded at her companion. She gave him a big smile before taking another spoonful of ice cream. Taichi quickly took a photo as a way to brag to his basketball idiot friend later.

As Taichi tapped away at his phone screen, the wheels in (Name)'s head were turning. She wanted to be with (S/Name)-senpai and help like (S/Name)-Senpai, then maybe she should sign on as an assistant manager. She could stay close to Taichi that way too. (Name) looked over at Taichi as he sent the picture that he took to Itsuki. He probably wouldn't be happy with her being close to that Tendou fellow, but it would be worth it if she got to help her senior.

"I will. By the way, those boys said (S/Name)-senpai was sick, I think they were buying ice cream for her."

"Who knows," Taichi said in an aggravated tone "Maybe they're faking, it's Tendou after all."

"You don't know that Taichiiiiiii!" (Name) puffed her cheeks as she looked away.

"Hey, don't you have some mangas or something you need to pick up today? Let's do that while we're out." Taichi suddenly changes the subject. He really didn't want little (Name) getting mixed up with Tendou. Who knows what he'd do to her. She's so sweet and innocent, he'd probably get pleasure from ripping her innocence apart.

A month later, a nervous (Name) held a club application in her hands. She shook slightly as she walked towards the gym. She knew Taichi was taking a nap, so he couldn't stop her.

She was going to apply to be the assistant manager of the volleyball team. Taichi would be mad at her, but she wanted to help (S/Name)-senpai in any way she could! How bad could that 'Tendou' boy be? He was friends with (S/name)-senpai right?

(Name) then turned a corner too quickly and bumped into someone

"A-ah! I'm sorry!" She then looked up to see a very angry looking boy with sharply cut bangs. He was taller than her, but not nearly as tall as Taichi. He seemed to be the same age as Taichi though. "Um..."

"Watch it next time." He then rudely passes her and ignores anything she has to say. She observes the boy. His hands looked skilled, and he wore knee pads.

"Volleyball... setter..." she whispered to herself. She turned her head away "And kinda rude... If I have to take care of people like him on the team, am I really cut out for the position?" (Name) began to doubt herself, but she peers into the gym regardless. She observed (S/Name) taking notes on a spike that the second-year ace Ushijima Wakatoshi just slammed past Tendou.

"Yeesh! My fingers are gonna break off if I continue going after those!" Tendou complains as he shook his hands out. The setter, Semi Eita shook his head as he smiled.

"I doubt (S/Name) would let your fingers snap off." (S/Name) smiled and gave Tendou a look over.

"Eh, if they snap off, we'll glue them back on." she jokes as she looks over to the door to spot the shy first year. "Eh? (Name)-chan?" the middle blocker perked up at the name and quickly turned around. (Name) flinched at his sudden gaze. She also noticed the gaze of another wing spiker and a Libero.

"So your name is (Name)-chan!? Cute!" Tendou then ran over to (Name) and was about to take her hands into his once again, but was interrupted by a paper. He looked down at the paper and began to think. (Name) began to blush as he stood so close to her. "... is that a club application?" (name) nodded softly as she walked past him towards (S/Name)

"(S/Name)-senpai, I wish to join and be the assistant manager, and help you in any way I can." (Name) trembled slightly as she handed her application to her senior. (S/Name) takes it and looks it over quickly before looking back to her junior

"Does Taichi-kun know about this? What about Itsuki-kun?" (Name) then was washed with sadness as she thought of her friend that moved away. subtle tears started to form in her eyes and she attempted to wipe them away. (S/Name) jumped as her junior began to full-on cry. "Eh!? (Name)-chan! Is everything okay? (Name)-chan!" (S/name) then began digging in her pockets as she looked for tissues.

"I-Itsuki moved to Tokyo!" (Name) blubbered as she continued to cry. The rest of the volleyball boys began to feel slightly panicked as well. They didn't know this girl at all, and they didn't know how to deal with crying girls well. (S/Name) didn't cry much, and when she did, they let Ushijima take care of it the best he could. Tendou then stuck out his chest and put his arm around (Name)'s shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay (Name)-chan! I'll look after you!" He then placed a kiss on her forehead before fully enveloping her.

"Eh? You know her, Satori?" (S/Name) squawked at him. Tendou froze. (S/Name) still doesn't know about the time Tendou went searching for information in the middle school. (Name) blinked before blushing slightly, but she pushed Tendou away slightly and looked at her upperclassman.

"He came to the middle school one day to ask about some volleyball things." (Name) covered for Tendou. She didn't know why she covered for him, but Tendou seemed to appreciate it.

"Alright? I guess." (S/Name) became suspicious of Tendou, but (Name) seemed comfortable. She began to wonder what (Name) did to have Tendou so infatuated with her. (S/Name) narrowed her eyes, and then stuck a hand in between Tendou and (Name) "You do realize that (Name) is one of the kids I took care of though, right? Satori?" Mama Eagle was clearly not super pleased with Tendou's sudden display of affection. Snickering could be heard from the other second years.

"You had that coming Satori." A deep voice called to him.

"So you're okay with me not continuing volleyball (S/Name)-senpai?" (S/Name) sighed as she looked over the application again

"It saddens me slightly, but I understand it. You probably feel lonely without one of your brothers, huh?"

"I-I also want to help you as much as I can!" (Name) removes herself from Tendou's grasp. "Y-You helped me a lot, now I want to return the favor! Please!" (Name) bows to her senior "Let me help you!" (S/Name) is taken aback. She blinks several times before looking at the application one last time. A deep, stern voice cuts in

"If you accept her application, you don't have to go to the water fountains alone again, (S/Name)." (S/Name) flinched and grimaced at a tall, muscular player that (Name) recognized as Ushijima.

'Wing-spiker... left-handed...'

"If I accept, we have a super-genius manager then. By the way Satori, she is way out of your league." (S/Name) points out as she clicks a pen and begins writing. Tendou flinches and looks up at his manager

"What do you mean?" (Name) began to blush as she pushes her fingers together, averting her shy gaze downwards. It was an honor to be praised by her idol.

"For starters, she was given a scholarship to Shiratorizawa, not for any sports, but an elusive academic scholarship. In junior high, she was moved up a grade. She ranks top 1% in this school when it comes to academics." (Name) begins to blush heavily as she begins babbling about it not meaning much.

"Cute and smart? What more could a boy ask for!" Tendou nestles his face into (Name)'s cheek, and it clearly annoyed (S/Name).

"PERMISSION!" (S/Name) shouted as she grappled the lanky middle blocker and easily tossed him towards the net. Ushijima was quicker to check on (S/Name), and less concerned about where she threw Tendou. (Name) blinked then smiled. Her precious senior had not lost any strength, and she had people checking on her. He really had kept his promise.


	4. conditions

The next day, Taichi was lazily walking (Name) to class. She was in the same class as him, so he always waited for her.

"Morning Taichi-kun!" (Name) greeted with a bright, peachy smile on her face. Taichi gave her a lazy wave and a yawn. "Taichiii! You're gonna make me yawn!" (Name) then yawns, just as she predicted. Taichi laughed at her and then examined the happy girl.

"Hey (Name)-chan, did you tell (S/Name)-senpai that you were quitting volleyball?" He suddenly asks as (Name) rubs her eyes.

"Yeah, she said she understood." (Name) smiled with a twinkle in her eye. Today was her first day of helping (S/Name)-senpai.

"What are you so happy about? Did something cool happen in your manga or something?" Taichi teased. (Name) jumped and scratched the back of her head

"If you're gonna let me talk about it, I might as well tell you about it!" Her eyes then lit up as she began to explain what had happened in her manga. She was currently reading one about a society of superhumans. "And it's so cool! Because before he couldn't control it at all! But now he's got something called full cowl and it's awesome!" (Name) begins to sway back and forth as she recalls the most recent events.

"So he's overpowered," Taichi bantered a little, he knew she hated that word. (Name) pouted.

"Taichiiiii!" She whined "He's earned everything! And he's not overpowered... yet," She places a finger to her chin as she thought about her favorite character. Were they overpowered?

"I'm just kidding around (Name), It doesn't sound as bad as that one manga you were describing, the guy who just punches things once and it's destroyed." Taichi smiled and opened a door for his little sister. (Name) pursed her lips as she nodded.

"Yeah, Saitama was very overpowered, but it worked with the comedy in the manga. I started reading the author's other works, and it's just as funny. He makes really good stuff!" (Name) was cheery and happy. Taichi was pleased.

"Have you heard from the doofus by the way? He texted me once and said he went through a really weird initiation ceremony."

"Yeah, he said his senior described it as... Japanese lunchtime rush or something?" (Name) placed a hand on her chin as she recalled the flustered call from Itsuki "Said he nearly got crushed by all sorts of strong sports teams just to get a sandwich..." (Name) began to worry as she recalled the next part of what Itsuki told her.

"Yeah, and then they had to shout their goals to the entire school assembly, and if they don't achieve them, they have to confess naked to their crush, HA!" Taichi began to laugh as he thought of his friend shivering naked in front of a girl "Man I'd LOVE to see that!" (Name) pouted at him, but then became self-conscious.

"By the way, Taichi... would you be mad at me if I..." (Name) looked down. She felt guilty about going behind Taichi's back and applying to be an assistant manager, but at the same time, she felt like it was the right choice.

"If you what? I guarantee it's gonna take a lot for me to ever be mad at you." He comforts her worried mind. "Like you harming yourself or someone else out of malice. Whether it be physically or emotionally." (Name) looked over at her tall older brother, and he looks back "I promise kay?" (Name) smiled her peachy grin again. She felt more confident and looked forward as they entered their classroom. She was happy that Taichi was understanding.

"I applied to be the assistant manager of the volleyball team." (Name) admits as she places her bag on a desk next to Taichi's.

"GEH?!" He choked and turned pale. (Name) blinked as she inspected her friend.

"Taichi?" Her eyes went blank as Taichi stared at her after making that noise. "Taichi?!" she reached for the tall boy, "Taichi!"

"Why did you do that..." Taichi managed to make out as he fully processed what she had said. His eyes began to twitch as he extended and retracted his fingers out of frustration.

"You said you wouldn't be mad!" (Name) protests.

"I'm not, I'm just..." he took a deep breath and placed a hand on his face and he attempted to find the right words. (Name) was too smart for him, however. She narrowed her eyes at him then pouts.

"You don't want me near Tendou-senpai. If it wasn't for him, then you'd be happy with me being a manager." Taichi flinches. She was as perceptive as ever. "I did it because I want to help (S/L/Name)-senpai. She's done so much for us, I want to return the favor." her pout intensifies as she begins to glare as well. Taichi begins to panic slightly. She was getting into her grumpy mode "So what if there's a boy who has a crush on me! You aren't the boss of me! You shouldn't be mad at me! You're being overbearing!" She then suddenly faces forward and takes out a manga, immediately burying her face in it and refusing to look at Taichi.

"(N-Name)-chan, don't be like that..." Taichi attempted to soothe, but she turned her head and lifted her nose. Great, their first week of classes, and Taichi has already managed to put (Name) in her grumpy mode. "(Name)-chan..." he attempts again, but she continues to ignore him. He sighs. There was nothing he could do now. He had to just wait out her grumpiness. Although she was adorable when she was grumpy, he disliked that she was mad at him and didn't talk to him or look at him. He sighed as (Name) only placed her book down when class began. He began to miss the peachy, bubbly little smile that (Name) would have when in class, but he knew if he got yelled at like that, then it would take a while for her to forgive him.

Lunch came around, and (Name) was still grumpy. She followed Taichi like she normally would, but she didn't dare look at him or speak to him. Her face was in her manga as she closely followed behind him as they walk into the dining hall. Taichi was trying to think of a way to get her back to normal, but (Name) has been known to stay in her grumpy mode for days at a time if she feels like it. No one has successfully gotten her out of these grumpy moods with words or actions before, and so far the only known solution is giving her time and space. So of course, of all times, he had to show up.

A bouncy redhead then came trotting into the Dining Hall, and Taichi was about to grab (Name) and flee, but when he reached for her, she smacked his hand away.

"(Name)-chan, just this once, okay? Please? Just-" (Name) turned away as she stayed silent. Taichi sighed as he tilted his head back out of agony. He was screwed. Tendou had spotted (Name). His eyes lit up with the sight of the girl, even if it was just her back. Taichi tried to get in the way of his fellow middle blocker, but Tendou easily wormed his way around him and spun around (Name) to face her front. That's when he froze as his eyes went wide. Taichi noticed and hoped maybe, just maybe, he would finally leave (Name) alone because she read manga. Just maybe she was too childish for him finally.

"Is that your first time reading FMA or are you rereading it?" Tendou's heart nearly leaped out of his chest. She continued pouting.

"Rereading it. 4th time," she replied and slightly looked up. Taichi flinched. (Name) usually only spoke to those who were extremely close to her when in her famous grumpy moods, but Tendou elicited a response from her with ease.

"Wow! So who's your favorite? I have a preference for Scar to be honest! He's a really complex character! So was Envy!" He began chatting with her like nothing, and Taichi was waiting for her to just flat out reject his advances, but he was surprised that he could keep up with her interests. (Name) looked up slightly with a softer gaze.

"I like both Winry and Alphonse. Winry reminds me of (S/L/Name)-senpai." Tendou gives her a wide smile "But Scar's a good choice."

"Did you like the first anime adaptation? I found it a little weird, but I liked it well enough," He continued being chatty with her as Taichi looked on in shock. Was he actually being successful in pulling her out of her grumpy mood?! Not even Itsuki or (S/L/Name) could do that!

"The second will always be better, but the first was pretty interesting too," (Name) then did something she never did in her grumpy mood,

She put her manga down and gave her full attention to Tendou. Taichi paled and choked. He did the impossible. He did what no one else had ever done before, and he did it on his first try. For the first time ever, (Name) was brought out of her Grumpy mood by someone else. Taichi reached out a shaky hand to (Name), but couldn't bring himself to touch her.

"Of course! I think everyone agrees with that!" His smile made her smile, and she then let out a giggle. Her grumpy mood had completely faded.

"Do you want to eat lunch with us Tendou-senpai?" Tendou nearly screamed at her cuteness. She was easily stealing his heart. Taichi felt his spirit leave his body.

"I'd love that (Name)-chan!" He was about to get in closer when his phone buzzes in his pocket. He quickly answers with a slew of texts, which quickly became panicked texts. (Name) had no idea who he was texting, but he feared for his life at one point. He finally seemed to calm down after one text he received, and happily turned his attention back to (name).

(Name) happily sat with Tendou as he kept giving sly looks over to Taichi. If he didn't think (Name) would go back into Grumpy mode he'd beat him half to death, but there he sat, inching his hand closer to (Name)'s blatantly in front of him. Tendou thought that (Name) wasn't paying attention to it as his spider-like fingers crawled towards her gentle, small hands. Her nails were cut short but painted a pale (F/C). Pale, pastel colors fit (Name) so well.

"Hey, Tendou-senpai," She interrupted his chatter, and Taichi began listening in with a grumpy face. "I know you're here because you kept your promise, and you want me to keep mine." She then lifts her hand away as she takes out her book "My promise was to date you in high school, however" She gives him a shy, sweet smile **"I never said when."**

Taichi and Tendou both choke, but Taichi erupts into laughter quickly afterward.

He should have known, he should have known that (Name) was probably constantly thinking about this, and she would find the loopholes. As innocent as she was, she was also sneaky and clever. She was like a baby fox in a lamb's coat. She didn't have strength, but she had brains. A wider smile spread across her face. "So unless you can woo me sooner, I want to take it at my pace." She then placed her book down on Tendou's creeping hand. He was stunned. She let him think he had full control of the situation, but oh how wrong he was. She read the fine print, and she formed a simple plan from that. "Okay? Tendou-senpai?" She lifted a finger to her cheek and tilted her head to the side as she gave him a cheerful face "Let's keep our promises, okay?" Tendou's heart could have exploded right there. He was in love.

Taichi fell over laughing at how quickly (Name) had turned things around on the boy as the boy with spiked red hair sat there in silence with his once creeping hand covered by (Name)'s book.

His phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket, and Taichi quickly fished it out to and checked it to see a message from (S/Name)

 **12:14** **From (S/Name):** Hey Taichi-kun! Is Satori with you? Is he being good?

 **From Taichi:** Yeah, he's with me and (Name), everything's going great

 **From (S/Name)** : ?

 **From Taichi:** (Name)'s too clever for him, she's got everything under control.


	5. Practice game

(Name) excitedly sat in the gym as she held a few folders for (S/Name) while she went to fill water bottles. Ushijima had tried to get (Name) to go with her, but (S/Name) said she'd be fine seeing as this was 'home turf'

"I wonder what she meant, and I wonder why Ushijima-senpai seemed so worried..." (Name) whispered to herself. Tendou was quick to approach her, but Taichi watched his every move.

"Wondering why Wakatoshi's so worried?" He gave her a smug grin "I can fill you in you know," (Name) looked up at the tall boy, giving him a small smile. A blissful look enveloped his face as he stared at her peachy grin.

"That would be great Tendou-senpai," She said in a quiet tone. Tendou then immediately nodded his head, completely forgetting that he was going to try and use this information as leverage.

"Ah, (S/Name) has little water fountain adventures every once in a while. She runs into all sorts of trouble! She's even gotten a marriage proposal once!" (Name)'s eyes widen

"Really!?" Taichi grimaced. Did (S/Name) really get proposed to? Or was he making that up?

"Ah, yeah, I remember that. Wakatoshi was hitting hard that day. I'm surprised he didn't break a volleyball." Semi then adds. (Name) flinched then shook out of fear. Ushijima really was strong. Shirabu listened in as well and furrowed his brow. Ushijima seemed to really care for (S/Name).

Just then, an intimidating (S/Name) comes storming in with hostile energy rolling off her in waves. Her eyes were focused in a glare, and her mouth formed a scowl. Following her was an owlish boy who seemed to get a kick out of annoying (S/Name). His head bobbed excitedly as he asked her question after question. (Name) squeaked, (Much to the joy of Tendou) and hid behind Taichi in search of refuge. He does his best to protect (Name) from the intimidating energy coming off of (S/Name), but even he found himself wanting to shake.

As she closes in on Ushijima, other second years seem nervous, but he seems unfazed. He seems to know he's not in trouble.

(S/Name) then does something completely unexpected by carefully resting her forehead on Ushijima's chest. She closes her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. (Name) looks on as she analyzes the scene.

'Ushijima-senpai's been that close before. She wouldn't have gone up to him if she wasn't for certain that Ushijima-senpai would have that effect on her.' (Name) also noticed some third years badgering each other for money. She suspects they have a bet. 'So Ushijima-senpai and (S/Name)-senpai are a wanted couple, encouraged by seniors. I wonder if it's encouraged by anyone else.' She noticed Ushijima's wide-eyed stare at his roommate, Reon. 'Given Reon-senpai's reaction, he's gone to him for guidance before. Ushijima-senpai is the one with the crush. He's the one that's initiated before, and (S/Name)-senpai trusts him immensely.'

"So is Volleyball your boyfriend or not? Or are you cheating on Volleyball?" The owlish boy then stupidly asks. (Name) grimaces as she hides further behind Taichi and grabs at his hand.

(S/Name) mutters as she throws down the water bottle bag and shoots the boy a deadly glare as she begins running full speed at him.

"That's it!" She lets out under her breath. For once the boy does something smart and runs the other direction, then dives behind a manager and a setter.

"Whoa whoa whoa! We're really sorry for how he's treated you" The manager attempted to calm (S/Name), it must have worked to an extent, as (S/Name) retracts her talons slightly. "Hey, my name's Shirofuku Yukie by the way,"

"We understand how you feel, we apologize greatly." The tired-looking setter joins in. "Akaashi Keiji" (S/Name) took a deep breath as she attempted to calm herself.

"Hey, you're hair is really pretty you know, what's your name?" Shirofuku commented as she kept (S/Name) distracted while Akaashi led the stupid boy away from (S/Name). Her flattery tactics were an interesting way to calm someone down and must have been developed through some sort of experience.

"(L/Name) (Name). I appreciate your compliments, but your ace is a dolt." (S/Name) was clearly not amused in the slightest. The aforementioned ace flinched.

"We know. We're very sorry." Shirofuku bows as Akaashi continues to keep a distance from (S/Name) and his ace. He must have been quietly whispering things to his ace, as the Ace's face was wildly changing expressions. Shirofuku must have realized that as long as the stupid ace was in her line of sight, (S/Name) wouldn't be able to calm down much, so she led her fellow manager out of the gym, and pre-game preparation continued as normal. Ohira let out a sigh of relief as soon as (S/Name) left the room.

"She might not have wings, but she sure as hell has talons." the second years nod in agreement, and resume what they were doing before the stupid boy provoked (S/Name). Ushijima, however, was staring at the door. Wheels in his head were clearly turning, but too slowly for (Name)'s liking. (Name) decided to let him in on why (S/Name) did what she did. Taichi noticed (Name) release his hand as she walked over to the large ace of their team.

"Ushijima-senpai?" Her soft voice almost went unnoticed by him, but he looked towards his smaller manager. "You know why she went to you, right? When she was angry like that?" He blinked at her, indicating that he had no idea. "You must have soothed her in the past in a similar manner, she was trying to recreate that somehow. You've done something like that to comfort her, haven't you?" Tendou, Semi, Ohira, and Yamagata all flinch. (Name) noticed it out of the corner of her eye. They knew what happened. "Whatever you did, you should go do something similar now. It helps her."

Ushijima nodded at (Name) and quickly walked to the door. Her hunch seemed to be right. He seemed to know what to do, and with her help, it happened faster than if he tried to figure it out on his own.

Behind her, Tendou was having a mini excitement attack as his eyes lit up at (Name). He was slowly turning into her biggest fan, she was so smart and perceptive, she was cute to boot. Taichi took notice and gave Tendou a scowl.

(Name) then noticed Shirabu. He seemed very confused as to why the ace was that quick to leave after (S/Name). (Name) watched him as he tried to reason possibilities in his head, but he didn't know as much about (S/Name) as (Name) did, so he'd probably get nowhere. The Fukurodani manager quickly re-enters and goes to check on her ace. He seemed shaken, but he quickly recovered after both Shirofuku and Akaashi both teamed up to lift his spirits. (Name) decided to return to Taichi briefly.

"What was that all about (Name)?" He asked her quietly, knowing how (Name) got when he drew attention to her.

"This is a very intimate matter between Ushijima-senpai and (S/Name)-senpai. I'll tell you later." she placed a finger to her lip with a very serious look on her face. Taichi nodded. "I need to ask Ohira-senpai something though. I'll be back." Tendou's ears perked up. She was going to ask a question about (S/Name) and Ushijima, she had to be! He quickly slid over in an attempt to get some sort of attention from (Name)

"Hey! You can ask me too you know! I'll tell you anything you want to know!" (Name) gave a sweet smile to the boy, and his heart nearly melted. This attention she gave him was becoming addictive.

"Is that a promise?" without thinking, Tendou replies.

"Promise!" Taichi snickers. He had no idea that he had played right into (Name)'s hands again. Her tiny, soft hands. She placed a finger on her cheek as she smiled her famous peachy smile at him.

"Wonderful!" she looked up at him and looked him directly in the eye. His heart raced. "Let's keep our promises then!" her gentle voice speared him as soon as he realized what he just did. Taichi continues to snicker and giggle as he attempted to keep himself from falling over and just letting it all out. Tendou glared at him, but he couldn't help but feel his heart beat faster for the girl.

After (S/Name) reentered, (Name) noticed a difference instantaneously. (S/Name) apologized with her golden smile, and her second-years forgave her quickly. Ushijima was right behind her as she walked in, and even he seemed slightly happier, in his own emotionless way. (Name) smiled and gave a thumbs up to Taichi. He got the message and nodded at her as he resumed his stretches.

"This won't ever happen again, but you can sit on the bench with me (Name), in actual matches, only one manager is allowed on the bench at a time. I need to be here for the second-years, and eventually the first years." (S/Name) says as she sits next to the coach with her folders.

"But Taichi already needs you." (Name) responds to her modest speaking manager, (S/Name) laughs slightly.

"Glad to hear, but there's still a first-year that doesn't exactly like me being around him." (S/Name) gives a quick glance, and (Name) side-eyes the rude boy she met when she first applied to be assistant manager. (Name) wasn't surprised that he didn't seem to trust (S/Name) yet. (Name) didn't recognize him at all from middle school, but he would have been in her class. He was up there when it came to testing scores.

(Name) was no volleyball genius, so she had trouble understanding the difference between the grumpy boy and her sweeter upperclassman. She began to get a better grasp on it when Ushijima's spike came down like a cannonball. (Name) shivered. She could never imagine going up against something like that.

Her nerves were soon quelled however when a familiar exuberant redhead kept glancing over at her. (Name) tilted her head. He smiled when he finally got an indication that she was paying attention, much to Taichi's dismay. With quick glances and even quicker hands, Tendou blocked an oncoming spike, quickly sending it down to the floor of the other side of the court. He quickly looked back over to (Name) as she looks on with wide eyes. The block he just did was very different from how Taichi blocked. She was impressed. She couldn't help but give him a peachy smile. After several of those different blocks, she had given him several of those smiles, and he got overconfident and missed.

"That's the risk of guess blocking..." Taichi mutters. He'd tell (Name) about the difference between his blocking style and Tendou's later.

(Name) let out a nervous laugh. Tendou sure was interesting.


	6. Mirror

After the match, Tendou joined Taichi and (Name) in her dorm. Tendou was clearly excited to be in the girl's dorm. The first thing he noticed was the excessive amount of plushies and blankets. If she wanted to she could make a nest of them. Taichi seemed unphased as he flopped into one of her bean bag chairs.

"Itsuki sent me another plushie from Tokyo, Look! It's a little husky! Isn't it cute!" (Name) began showing off the black and white husky plush to Taichi.

"Does it have a jersey on?" Tendou tilted his head as he examined the little plush in her hands.

"He said that it used to belong to a puppy, but the puppy outgrew it." She smiled as she held it close to her chest. "He also said it looks exactly like the jerseys they wear. It's pretty cool!"

"Itsuki seems to be pretty important to you," Tendou adds. She nods

"He's... very important, just like Taichi is." Tendou could tell there was something else there. It wasn't romantic, but there was something else there. Taichi looks up at (name) with a comforting gaze.

A sudden phone buzz broke the tension in the room, and (Name) looked at her phone. "It's Itsuki, I need to take this," She answers and heads into her room and shuts the door, leaving Tendou with Taichi. Taichi sits in silence for a few minutes before finally looking up at Tendou, finally finding the words he wanted to say.

"Clearly you aren't going to leave her alone, are you?" Taichi says in a quiet tone, as for (Name) not to hear.

"Ding Ding Ding, you figured it out." Tendou replies as he sits down on the floor, cross-legged and facing Taichi. His face was very unimpressed.

"Why? Why her? Can't you just leave her alone? Are you trying to torture her?" Taichi leans forward with an aggravated look on his face. "She's gone through enough you know, she doesn't need you hurting her too."

"Gone through enough?" Tendou narrowed his eyes at Taichi as he gave him a weird, confused sneer. Taichi let out a huff through his nose as he glared down Tendou. Taichi then looks to the side and begins fidgeting with the ear of a stuffed bear. "What has she gone through?" Tendou became increasingly curious. He wanted to burrow deeper into what had happened to (Name).

"She's... not exactly popular you know." Taichi attempted to be as vague as possible. Tendou then stared directly into Taichi's eyes. His face became deadly serious as he began to feel something familiar.

"Didn't have a lot of friends growing up, excluded from everything, including things she loved, told she was a monster or freak?" Tendou rattled off as he continued to stare at Taichi. His red eyes were intently focused on the first year middle blocker. Taichi quickly lifted his head and stared right back at him. "Does that sound familiar? Is that her?" He was guessing, but he took Taichi's reaction as an affirmation.

"Never called a monster, but replace that with baby, then yeah..." Taichi admitted and he didn't know why. He bit his bottom lip "How... did you..." He began to ask, and Tendou brought his knees up and hugged his legs. He hid half his face behind his knees.

"I might be familiar with it." He replied as his gaze went nowhere in particular. Taichi noticed Tendou's slight dissociation from reality. This looked so familiar to what (Name)'s really bad days looked like that he didn't dare question it. "She's a good mask maker, eh?"

"She stopped making elaborate masks a while ago." Taichi responded quicker than Tendou thought he would "She's genuinely happy now, but I still worry about it." He looked up at the slightly more aware Tendou "I worry that something will fling her back into those times. That's why I'm telling you to stay away."

"Now that you've told me that, I can't, it's impossible," Tendou admits. A silent rabbit was taking in what the two boys were saying to one another.

(Name) had finished her phone call with Itsuki a couple of minutes earlier, but she heard what Taichi said about her and his vague description of her traumas. She decided it was better for her to listen in. Taichi was overprotective, but she knew he had a reason.

"If you slip up, you could reopen years of pain, you know that right?" Taichi stood up out of the beanbag chair and stared down the blank gaze of the boy. "You could extinguish that happiness she's finally found! That genuine happiness!"

"That's why you're always with her, huh?" Tendou's voice seemed almost dead. It was severely uncharacteristic of him, "Does she get anxious if she goes long without being in contact with one of you? Is that why that other boy calls so much? Because you both know?" He guessed again, but his guesses were rarely wrong.

"Why are you so persistent about asking all this?!" Taichi finally snaps.

 **"Because faded scars are as obvious as hell to those who have ones in the same spot."** Taichi freezes and thought about what Tendou just said. He was able to guess (Name)'s trauma because he's lived it. He's seen it. He's felt it. The only difference is that (Name) had Knights in shining armor to come save her. What did Tendou have? "I was an idiot to think that it was just her cleverness and cuteness that drew me to her, or even the fact that we have similar interests. It's definitely a bonus, I'll admit." (Name)'s eyes widen. Did he really go through similar things? "I guess I should say thanks though. Even though you didn't mean it, you told me what I needed to know about her for me to never want to leave her." Tendou took a deep breath, forced a smile on his face and hopped up from his seat on the floor. He had let an old face appear, but it was time to throw it to the side once again. He didn't want (Name) to see him like that, and she was likely to come out of her room any minute. "So does she keep all her manga in her room? I see some out here but that can't be all of it can it?" He said once again in a bouncy voice as he inspected a shojo that was on the floor. Taichi looked on in horror. He blinks several times.

(Name) held back tears in the other room, but she quickly ran to her bed and softly cried. How was he that good at composing himself?

"Yeah, she keeps a lot of it in her room," Taichi responds. (Name) shoots her head up and listens to Taichi's tone. It was different. It was amicable. "Be careful with that one! She loves Tokyo Mew Mew! She'd be in grumpy mode for WEEKS if something happened to that!"

"Ah! Sorry! She's cute when she's grumpy though"

"Yeah, I know, but it SUCKS, I doubt you'd be able to pull her out of that one, doofus."

"Doofus?"

'Doofus?' (Name) listened to the familiar insult that he used all the time on Itsuki. She looked down at her pillow and blinked several times. Taichi was no longer being standoffish towards Tendou if he was calling him that. She smiled and slid off her bed. Maybe letting them talk was a better idea than she thought. She opened her door with a cheery smile, but Taichi immediately noticed her reddened eyes.

"Did that idiot make you cry?!" Taichi jumped to check on (Name).

"Do you need a hug (Name)-chan?" Tendou held his arms out to (Name) and made a grabbing motion with his hands. (Name) smiled and rubbed her eyes a little.

"I'm okay Taichi," (Name) smiled and walked towards Tendou, and quickly accepted his embrace. Taichi flinched, but he let it happen. Tendou quivered slightly at her close contact. He didn't expect her to accept. He snapped himself out of his stupor however and quickly embraced her back and rubbed his cheek against hers

"Aww! (Name)-chan so cute!" he gushed "Anytime you need a hug I'll give you one okay?" His internal screams for joy overwhelmed any thoughts he had.

"Promise?" (Name) asks. Taichi smiles. He began to piece things together. Itsuki would feel awful if he made (Name) cry and begin panic texting Taichi to see if he could do anything. She had been listening. (Name) might be smart, but spend enough time around her and you figure out her cleverness.

"I promise!" Tendou proudly proclaims as he continues to relish the close touch she was permitting.

_With her body against his, their scars were almost like a mirror's reflection._

After peeling Tendou off her and a lot of whining, they were all sitting in the middle of her dorm. (Name) had gotten a sweet snack from her fridge. Her face warped with each blissful bite she took. Tendou was absolutely enthralled with her sweet faces, and Taichi gave her a half smile.

"So, Tendou-senpai,"

"Call me Satori, (Name)-chan!" He interrupted her quickly. She smiled at him and he nearly fell backward.

"Satori-senpai, can you tell me about Ushijima-senpai and (S/Name)-senpai's relationship? She seems to have gotten intimate attention from him before, right?" Taichi leaned in as he listened closely to his upperclassman.

"So nosey (Name)-chan! But yes." he gave her a smile "But you probably already figured that one out huh? You're so smart~" Taichi cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows at him. "Wakatoshi has a huge crush on (S/Name). Like, massive." He stretched his arms wide to exaggerate his point as he leaned back a little. (Name) took another bite of her treat as she stared at him with wide, wondrous eyes. "He's had it since the first year. Naturally, he wants to tell (S/Name), seeing as he doesn't like keeping secrets from her." (Name) nodded as she lightly bit the tip of her utensil. She began to think.

'Well, that makes more sense. He makes sure he's the one to sit next whenever possible, and I've only seen him smile at her.' (Name) closed her eyes as she began to think more 'Ushijima-senpai is also constantly checking on her, whenever she does anything even possibly strenuous he becomes fretful.'

"Whatcha thinkin (Name)-chan?" Satori asked the younger girl.

"I'm thinking that (S/Name) really trusts Ushijima-senpai. She's known for showing affection through touch, but it's usually to soothe others." (Name) went back to biting the utensil.

"Yeah, I remember. Bowl cut used to come to her all the time for stuff like that." Taichi added.

"So did I," (Name) replied, "it was her specialty, so it's surprising to me that she let herself be that vulnerable to Ushijima-senpai." Satori nodded. He got the picture.

"I mean, he's done it in the past, soothed her I mean," Satori added. The first years look up at their wide-eyed second year. Satori dug out his phone and began scrolling quickly until he got to where he wanted to be "This is the exclusive group chat that I set up even before Wakatoshi knew he had a crush." He handed the phone to (Name) and Taichi "It goes on for a while, it's all the way from our first practice match against Aoba Josai!"

(Name) carefully examined the picture at the beginning, a slightly younger-looking Ushijima glared up at the camera while a tired-looking (S/Name) rested on his shoulder, fast asleep. The slew of messages that followed it was of a pissed and panicked boys team. Images following it were of Ushijima carrying (S/Name) while she rested in his arms. The texts after that was Ohira requesting assistance.

"After those texts, Wakatoshi admitted he had a crush," Satori leaned over (Name)'s shoulder and pointed. "Oh! I forgot about this picture!" the picture he pointed to was of a very upset looking Ushijima carrying a laundry basket walking next to (S/Name) "That's the day the seniors admitted they had a bet on when they would get together," (Name) scrolled again, but she and Taichi both choked at the next image.

(S/Name) was laying down in her bed, her face flushed with fever, while Ushijima cuddled her as they slept. (Name) finally knew why (S/Name) opened herself up to him like that.

"Yeah, that's the day I saw you again (Name)-chan! (S/Name)" Satori said with a cheerful face before it dropped as he looked at the picture "(S/Name) had spent the entire night before on notes for the spring high finals. The seniors blew her off, and as a result of their cockiness, we lost our ticket to nationals. (S/name) hid the fact that she came down with a really bad cold, and stood firm to comfort us, even though she felt miserable." He sat leaned back as he thought about the memory "We ran all the way back to the school that day, and (S/Name) was taken back on the bus with the coaches. We didn't hear from her, so we assumed she was mad. Apparently, Reon told Wakatoshi to go check on her, and he found her hacking up a lung in her bed." (Name) widened her eyes along with Taichi. So he wasn't lying that day. "When we found them, he refused to leave her, so we all went out and got her all sorts of stu-" He was interrupted by a kiss on his cheek. Taichi choked.

"(N-NAME)!" her orange-haired older brother called out to her. Satori was frozen again. This kind of attention was exactly what he wanted from her, but it was torture at the same time. He couldn't act the way he wanted to if he was to keep his promise with her.

"Thank you for taking care of her." she closed her eyes with a smile. He looked at her with wide eyes and nodded as he licked then bit his lips slightly.


	7. Helping a senior

Satori was more determined than ever to woo (Name). Taichi no longer stalled his advancements as he now knew Satori was truly interested in (Name). Naturally, he still didn't like it, but he no longer hated Satori with a burning passion. Taichi became friendlier with the second-year middle blocker, much to the surprise of (S/Name).

"They seem to get along better now," (S/Name) comments to her assistant manager. (Name) nods as she smiles at them both. "Did something happen?" (S/Name) asks as the Shiratorizawa team made their way into the gym where they were to play their first match of the day.

"You could say that," (Name) was being cryptic, leading (S/Name) to believe it was probably a more private matter, and they'll open up to her when they're ready.

"I see... well, remember that you're gonna be in the stands today, okay (Name)? Are you going to be okay?" (S/Name) begins asking in a more worried tone, "You have my phone number, right?"

"I'll be okay (S/Name)-senpai! Worry about the team!" (Name) said in a cheery tone. "You shouldn't worry too much (S/Name)-senpai, it's bad for your skin," she jokes. "You'll get wrinkles before you know it!"

"If I get wrinkles (Name), blame the volleyball team second years." (S/Name) laughs

"What does that mean!?" Satori played up his hurt feelings before (S/Name) whipped around and pointed at him

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!?' Do you remember last year right before we left for nationals!?" she yelled at him as she becomes stressed out from the memory, Ushijima quickly placed both hands on her shoulders to quell her. His deadpan expression also seemed to help. (Name) sweat a little bit before assisting the boys to get ready for their next match.

Once the boys were almost ready, (Name) pointed out to Taichi where she would be. She let Satori know too, and he seemed grateful for it.

"I should get going then, I'll see you after you guys win!" (Name) smiled at them and trotted off.

Once she arrived in the crowded stands, she quickly is overwhelmed by the noise and pure presence of both teams cheering squads. Date Tech's cheer squad was in a fierce and loud cheer-off between Shiratorizawa's cheer squad quickly began. Shiratorizawa's stands were also packed, and (Name) had trouble getting to the spot she said she'd be in. The loud cheering mixed with the crowd made her chest feel tight and her heart was racing as a familiar feeling shot through her body. She began to shake and sway slightly as she felt her hands sweat. Her jaw clenched tight as her eyes widened.

'I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine, m-maybe I should call (S/Name)...' but as she took out her phone, the feelings only worsened. '(S/Name) is busy though, what if she gets mad? She's busy, I can't take her away from her duties, She's busy' She could feel tears in her eyes. 'What if the coach gets mad that I'm taking (S/Name)'s attention, what if the team gets mad?' her breathing worsened.

She couldn't take it and ran out of the gym.

Once outside, she found a bench. She sat and shook as she tried to take deep breaths to prevent herself from crying.

'I'm so stupid, so stupid, so stupid, I can't even handle a crowd, how am I going to manage a team! I'm stupid, I should have never joined, I'm stupid to think I could help (S/Name), I should have listened to Taichi, I'm so stupid'

"Hey," a girl's voice called to her, lifting her out of her self loathing musings. (Name) quickly looked up quickly to see if she needed to run, but the familiar, lazy looking face was friendly. She recognized her as (S/Name)'s old setter. (Name) could barely speak, so she sat there frozen. "Does (S/Name) know you're here? How bout Taichi?" The setter was very knowledgeable if she didn't ask about Itsuki. "I'm gonna take that silence as a hard 'no'" She says as she pulls out her phone and calls her old ace. "Hey, It's me. I found your rabbit." she switched the taped hands she held her phone in as she paced a bit "Yeah she's by the fountain benches. I can stay here with her until you guys get here." She paused as she listened for a bit "Yeah, I think her anxiety got the better of her." she retracted one of her hands into her large jacket sleeves. "Okay, see you in a bit. I'll do my best." the setter then hung up and slipped the phone into her sleeve. "Are you hungry? Do you want a snack? I have cheese crackers and some skittles," (Name) shook her head. The setter read her mood and sat a bit further away on the bench than if she were comforting someone else. "I've got headphones and some relaxing music, does that sound better?" The setter finally caught her attention. The anxious manager nods. "Okay, let's listen to this then! This always helps me when I get flustered from not getting a set right." she took out a pair of headphones along with a headphone splitter from her pockets.

"You... have a lot of things in those pockets."

"Yup! My mom always said 'prepare for the worst, hope for the best'" the lax girl set up the headphones and offered a set to (Name), who happily took them. (Name) was able to calm down some as she blocked out the world with the music.

A small-time later, the second-years along with Taichi came over and spotted the lax setter with their small manager. Taichi let out a sigh of relief when she saw she was with someone familiar. Taichi quickened his pace to (Name). she took notice of him immediately. He threw his arms around her in a protective manner. Satori watched on, letting the brother handle things. He didn't want to ruin his chances with her by smothering her right now. She did something surprising though, by looking up at him, directly staring into his eyes.

"Glad to see you're still playing Kawanishi-kun. I should probably take my leave though." The comforting setter states before tapping (Name)'s shoulder and grabbing her attention. "Mind if I stop the music? You doing okay now (L/Name)-chan?" (Name) nodded at her and then gave her a small 'thank you' "Hey Ace, you seem more chipper. I'm glad."

"Thank you," (S/Name) began chatting with the setter. (Name), however, kept staring up at Satori. Her eyes looked as if they were trying to figure out something.

(Name) continued to stare at Satori as he gave her a confused look. While Taichi did soothe her, so did he. He decided to give her a large smile, sending positive vibes through her entire body. His smile made things better, for sure. Taichi noticed as well and allowed her to compose herself without his protective grasp. She steadily made her way to Satori, who was slightly surprised she chose him to be a support right now. Her energy was slowly returning to her, and she slightly grabbed at the cuff of Satori's jacket. He let the tip of his fingers brush her palm.

"Jeez... those pockets of hers are endless..." (S/Name) commented as she looked over Taichi and (Name). She was checking on her babies.

"So... you used to play volleyball (S/L/Name)-chan?" Soekawa asks. A rush of energy hit (Name) as she heard the question. She could talk about (S/Name) and her volleyball for hours.

"She was the best on the Shiratorizawa girl team! (S/Name)-senpai broke through blocks that were taller than her! Her serves were deadly too!" (Name) grabbed Satori's sleeve as she began to jump in place, carefully not bothering him by bringing her knees up when she jumped. "She was the ace of the team! She wasn't bad at setting either!"

"Th-that was only in emergencies (Name)-chan, calm down!"

"A rather large mood swing..." Ohira said with a bit of a nervous tone. Satori smiled at (Name). He was glad that she could work through her anxiety relatively quickly.

"Yeah, I think my trusty setter did a good job of calming her down..." (Name) sighed. "You okay now (Name)?"

"Yeah, sorry about leaving like that... it was really loud and crowded..." (Name) looked down slightly, letting Satori wrap his pinkie around hers, then letting his ring finger intertwine with her hand, then his middle finger, his pointer finger, and finally, he was able to fully grasp her hand.

"I bet. Shiratorizawa's cheer squad is one thing, but mixed with Date Tech's must have been way too loud!" Satori leans over into (Name) with a big smile on his face. Taichi walks up to the other side of her. He was well aware of Satori's hand. He let it happen. He could feel how comforted (Name) was by it. He didn't like it, of course, but he always knew she wouldn't be someone he and Itsuki could baby forever. She would grow up eventually. Add in the fact that most rumors he had heard about Satori in Middle school were way blown out of proportion, and Satori wasn't awful for her. He was made a target just like (Name) was.

"So what is the present your setter got you?" Ohira asks as he looks over the CDs.

"I honestly have no idea. We can watch it when we get back, though and find out."

The bus ride was peaceful, Taichi sat on one side of (Name) while Satori sat on the other in the back of the bus. The two geeks were perusing shonen jump together, even if Satori fell asleep in the middle. (Name) ended up finishing what was in this month's edition by herself. Once they were back, Soekawa invited them all to his dorm to use his DVD player and tv. In addition to the DVD player, he had several movies and box sets on a desk in the room.

"I have to admit, this is the most people I've had in my dorm room," Soekawa mentions as he takes a seat in front of the couch, allowing Wakatoshi and (S/Name) to sit next to one another on the couch itself. (Name) had spotted a huge bean bag chair and couldn't help but throw herself into it. Soekawa was about to warn her about the bag's tendency to grab and never let go, but she had already been sucked in a fair bit. Satori, being the idiot he his, decides to join her. At first, it was so he could cuddle her, but then he quickly realized his predicament as he attempted to get out of the chair

"Uh, help?" he pleaded

"You got yourself in there. If you're still stuck when the movie's done, I'll help you out." (S/Name) said in a motherly tone. Taichi sighed and gave a tired smile.

The video started like any other home video, shaky hand, and chatter in the background, but then the camera moves up, to reveal a volleyball court.

_**'Man, (S/L/name)'s playing well today, hey are you her mom?'** _

_**'OH? So you've noticed my little girl!? Isn't she precious!'**_ (S/Name) bit her lip and groaned slightly as she heard her mother's voice. Did her mom get in contact with her old setter just to give her this?!

 _ **'(S/L/Name) get the last one!'**_ (Name) hears a familiar voice as she watches the setter's perfect form. (Name) finally realized when the video was taken as she struggled to sit up.

"(S/Name)-senpai, this was our Finals game!" (Name) points out "After the nationals, you went into retirement" (Name) went back to struggling to get out with Satori. "This might have been a bad idea, by the way, Satori-senpai..." Taichi shook his head. He looked to be done. He really loved his little sister, but sometimes she was the smartest idiot he knew.

"You're right, It was my last game vs Shirogane." (S/Name) watched as she sent a piercing spike through the block.

 _ **'NICE! (S/L/Name)-senpai!'**_ A scruffy girl called out, (S/Name) and her setter then ran over to each other and gave each other an over the head double high five. Not two seconds after that they were holding their own hands trying to soothe the stinging pain they had caused one another.

"Ah, We had a bad habit of hurting each other by accident..." (S/Name) looked down, but the boys were enthralled with the home video.

"Your setter's got a nice form..." Semi comments. An irk mark appears on (S/Name)'s forehead. Ushijima quickly notices.

"Your libero's quick too, does she still go here?" Yamagata asks. (S/Name) smacks him in the back of the head.

"Are you trying to find a date from my old home videos Hayato? I would expect that from Satori, but not you man!"

"She's cute!" Yamagata gestures at the TV as Soekawa gives a grimace. Were they always like this?

"Quit trying to pick up girls from my old team!!" Satori raises his hand with a cheeky grin

"Too late (S/Name)!"

"Satori-senpai, considering you're stuck, that might not have been a wise move." Taichi points out. Satori shivers and (Name) giggles slightly, more out of fear for Satori. Ohira places a hand on his face and shakes his head slightly. A good chunk of this room was about to die by Momma bird talons.

When the video ends, Soekawa carefully placed the home video back in its case.

"Any idea why she gave you that?"

"Probably as a reminder of who I used to be. I think she knows I'm hesitant to do anything involving surgery right now." (S/Name) admits. "I want to stay with the team,"

"What about after high school?" Ushijima questions in a firm tone. He seemed to lean in closer to (S/Name), and the entire room began to silently freak out, even (Name), it felt like she was going to have another anxiety attack, she found and squeezed Satori's hand, he gladly laced his fingers with hers. Everyone in that room knew of Ushijima's crush except for (S/Name).

"What about college?" She replied back. "I need to think about my future,"

"College can wait, your knee hurting affects your future too." Ushijima was blunt.

"Wakatoshi," (S/Name) said in a stern tone, "I don't want to live with my parents you know, I want to leave as soon as I can,"

"Then live with me," Ushijima said with a deathly serious tone. The entire room felt their spirits leave their bodies.

'THAT IDIOT!'

"H-Huh?!" (S/Name) blushed at his sudden proposal. "Y-You can't be serious, Wakatoshi... that..." She then looked over Ushijima's face. He was very much not kidding. "Oh my god you're serious..." Her face became even brighter. Ushijima noticed and checked her forehead for a fever. "I um... I need to go, I'll think about it, okay Wakatoshi? Talk to you guys later!" she then rushed out the door, forgetting the DVDs that she was just given that day.

(Name) realizes the danger her blunt upperclassman has put himself in and quickly struggles out of the bean bag chair by grabbing onto Taichi and lifting herself up. Taichi helped by being sturdy, and soon (Name) was free. (Name) then scoops up the DVDs and rushes out the door after (S/Name).

(S/Name) must have taken the elevator, so (Name) hastily took the stairs up to her senior's dorm.

"Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid..." She repeated up each step. Why did Soekawa have to live on the first floor?! Why did Ushijima-senpai have to SAY that?!

She soon reached (S/Name)'s floor and took a break on the concrete landing, but only briefly. She then sprinted out of the stairwell and headed towards her precious upperclassmen's dorm.

As soon as (Name) arrived, she heard yelling in (S/Name)'s room. (Name) placed her ear against the door.

"OH MY GOD (S/NAME)! You're telling me that this boy that you have a massive ass crush on ASKED YOU TO MOVE IN WITH HIM AND YOU SAID" the voice pitched her voice to be higher and more nasally than what it actually was "mmmmm we'll see~"

"It's not that simple! He probably didn't know what he was saying! That's just how Wakatoshi is!" the sudden sound of soft beating, most likely a pillow being smashed against something, soon filled the air.

"WHY. ARE. YOU. SO. IN. DENIAL. ABOUT. HIM. BEING. IN. LOVE. WITH. YOU!" (Name) decided maybe now was a good time to knock. (Name) softly tapped on the door, but as soon as the first rap hit the door, the beating stopped. A first-year answered the door with an unimpressed look on her face, she was holding a pillow behind her back. "Hi how can I help you?" she said in a calm tone

"Hey, Is (S/Name) there? She forgot these in Soekawa's room, and I need to talk to her."

"Is it about the boy that asked to move in with her? Because be my guest. She won't listen to me! 'Nyeh nyeh nyeh! He's dense!' He and every other boy..." The roommate stormed off into her side while she mumbled about boys. (Name) gave a wide-eyed nervous smile to (S/Name), who only shook her head and shrugged.

"Thanks for bringing those back (Name)-chan, but do we really have to talk about Wakatoshi?" (S/Name) sat down in a chair in her dorm "I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Can you tell me how you feel about Ushijima-senpai?" (Name) pressed further.

"How I feel? Well, He's a friend! Yeah, a-" suddenly her roommate bursts out of her room with an infuriated look on her face, she accurately chucks a pillow at (S/Name)'s face.

"SHE'S ABSOLUTELY HEAD OVER HEELS, LOVE! DEEP IN LOVE! JUST ADMIT IT ALREADY AND MOVE ON WITH YOUR LIFE GODDAMNIT!" Her roommate then swiftly shut her door and went back to her business. (Name) stared wide-eyed at her senior.

"Alright, she's right! I'm in love with him! I'm in love with Ushijima Wakatoshi! But that doesn't mean anything! Wakatoshi probably doesn't even pay attention to anything but volleyball!" (Name) listened to her senior's tearful explanation as she placed the pillow that was chucked at her on her lap. "You can't tell him (Name)!" she pleaded "Promise me you won't tell him!" (Name) froze. What will she do now!? Her precious senior just told her not to do something!

"Alright (S/Name)-senpai, I promise _I won't tell him._ "

She did what she always did.

She devised a plan.


	8. New Promises

**9:28** **Magical girl (name):** So we might not have a big of a problem as I thought.

And why is my name that?

 **Other momma bird Eita:** Satori.

 **** **Guess Who:** its perfect for you (Name)-chan!

 **** **Not Benkei Leon:** Is Wakatoshi not in this chat?

 **** **Other momma bird Eita:** was just about to ask

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** In order for me to keep my promise I can't let Ushijima-senpai know this information.

 ****did my name get changed again?

 **** **Guess who:** now ur like 50x cuter (name)-chan!

 **** **Liberate me Hayato:** flirt later, what's the information?

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** (S/Name)-senpai is actually in love with Ushijima-senpai. She made me promise not to ****tell him.

 **** **Liberate me Hayato:** WHAT

 **** **Guess Who:** (ʘᗩʘ')

 **** **Other momma bird Eita:** EXCUSE ME?!

 **** **Not Benkei Leon:** (Name)-chan this is huge!

 **** **Telephone boy Soekawa:** ....... r u serious?

 **** **Big Bro Taichi:** I see, you're taking advantage of the loophole by telling us so that we can tell Ushijima-senpai

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** You didn't hear it from me, but yes. That's exactly the plan. _I_ can't say anything to HIM about how she's in love, but she didn't say anything about _YOU_ guys.

 **** **Liberate me Hayato:** Note to self, never make a promise with (Name) unless you have a lawyer

 **** **Telephone boy Soekawa:** Ok, gr8, but now what

 **** **Not Benkei Leon:** If we just tell him, he's going to possibly overwhelm her. We need this to be as natural-seeming as possible.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** (S/Name) is nowhere near ready to tell Ushijima-senpai her feelings, but we may be able to naturally push them together? If that makes sense? I wish we had a reset button or something...

 **** **Not Benkei Leon:** We know. It would make all of our lives easier

(Name) sat in her room as she stared at her phone. She sighed at the idiocracy of it all. They were in love. Why can't they tell each other? She pouted slightly as she turned into her mound of plushies on her bed. She grabs onto a teddy bear and begins to think.

'Tomorrow's the prefecture finals. We go up against Seijoh. 3-5 sets. If Ushijima-senpai and (S/Name)-senpai don't make up by then, it could be disastrous.' (Name) began to stress out slightly. She gripped the teddy bear in her hands, but it didn't do much to quell her. She pouted again and looked at the ceiling. This entire situation was making her grumpy.

The next day, (Name) woke up grumpy. She didn't show it, but any small thing could send her into her famous grumpy mode. She tried her best to keep herself cheery for Taichi, but it was quickly becoming difficult when she saw her beloved senior (S/Name) purposefully dodge and avoid Ushijima. Even when Ohira tried to get them to do any sort of interacting, she would find an excuse. (Name) felt her cheery disposition fading fast as she witnessed her senior manager run out to fill water bottles.

'Can they just not make up?! Is it impossible for them!? Are they stupid or something?! (S/name) is being unreasonable! She's being stupid! She said she loved Ushijima-senpai! In fact, why isn't he doing anything?! He loves her too right?! He should be doing something!' a pout quickly consumed her face as she glared at nothing. The second years spot her and jump slightly.

"Crap, now?! Of all times?!" Taichi rushed over to (Name) and she turned away from him. When Satori tried, she turned away from him as well. The middle blockers look at each other with a slightly panicked look. She was cute as all heck, but man could she be difficult.

"Hey, come on (Name)-chan, everything will be okay!" Satori tried to take a guess at what she was grumpy about but really couldn't think of anything. "So, what's got you all grumpy huh?" he tried to coax it out of her next.

"Hmf!" She then walked away to work on something else while (S/Name) filled the water bottles. The red-headed middle blockers had failed, but Taichi expected that.

"What now?" Satori asks and Taichi grimaces.

"We hope that (S/Name) can maybe do something when she gets back..." They watch the smaller manager glare at anyone who crosses her path. "I wonder if this has anything to do with how (S/Name)-senpai and Ushijima-senpai are acting towards each other..."

"Maybe..."

The game begins shortly after (S/Name) returns. (Name) had brought a pair of headphones with her to block out any noise the cheering squad made. She had an unimpressed look on her face the entire time.

'(S/Name)-senpai seems to be interacting better with Ushijima-senpai, but I doubt they confessed. They're probably still being stupid.' she glared down at the court as a couple boys took notice in her.

"She's really cute... do you think she's a tsundere?" one asked with a pair of megaphones in his hands. The other became infatuated quickly as he looked her up and down.

"Maybe? She's super cute..." he lowered the megaphones in his hands in hopes of getting a better look at (Name). She didn't notice them due to her headphones and music.

"Dude, you should go talk to her..." one of the guys elbowed the other. The boy quickly elbowed back

"You do it! Tsunderes are your type aren't they?" The first boy set down the purple megaphones as he approached (Name). His steps were nervous as he approached the handrail where (Name) was. She was standing against the rail looking out at the game. A pout still held tight to her face. He reached a hand out to the rail and stood next to her. She gave him a glance but quickly returned her gaze back to the game.

"Um... hi..." He waved slightly at her. "What's your name?" (Name) turned her head further away from the boy and tilted her chin up. He choked at her coldness, but decided not to take the hint and continue "M-My name's Tetsumi," She took a step to the side, away from Tetsumi.

'Jeez, this guy's more annoying than (S/Name)-senpai and Ushijima-senpai's denial of one another...' she happened to shift her gaze down to the reserve box to see Satori staring straight up at (Name). His eyes were wide, and they seemed to burn holes in anything they stared at. They were soft on (Name), but as soon as they shifted to Tetsumi, the gaze sharpened again.

"W-Wow, that guy sure has a stare, huh?" he glanced back over at (Name) only to see her doing her best to glare at him as well. He began to get the feeling that he wasn't welcome, and moved back to his seat next to his friend. Satori moved his eyes back to (Name) and gave her a wide smile. She finally softened her gaze and returned the wide smile. All was right in the world again.

"(Name)-chan! You're no longer pouty!" Satori quickly remarked as she giggled and threw her arms around him, quickly freezing him in his tracks. Taichi sighed as he watched Satori quiver slightly

"So where's (S/Name)-senpai?" Taichi shifted his focus to his upperclassman. Yamagata was searching his pockets.

"She went to do her final rounds, seeing if anyone left anything." He answered as he unzipped his bag and began searching in there. Taichi grunts then looked back at Satori and a panicked Semi and Ohira as (Name) was being lifted up in the air by Satori.

"SATORI PUT HER DOWN!" Taichi rushes over and tries to place his hands so that he can catch her in case Satori drops her.

"Mmmmm nope!" He quickly spins around, causing (Name) to giggle slightly and grip his shoulders to stabilize herself. "I could just run off with her right now, it would be perfect!"

"NO!"

"Without (S/Name) here, Satori seems to be a lot more impulsive..." Ohira points out.

"No, he'd still be like this, it would just be over sooner." Semi mentions. Ushijima blinks.

"I can just take her from him, would that work?"

"I'm fine! You guys are no fun!" (Name) giggles and smiles at her new vantage point. Itsuki would sometimes place her on his shoulders if it was a special occasion, but that was only because she was so small. "Although if you get tired Satori-senpai, you can always put me down."

"Nope! I'll never get tired with you (Name)-chan!" he says as his arms begin to tremble slightly. Taichi gave Ushijima an 'if you would' look and Ushijima understood. He walked over to a slowly struggling Satori and easily plucked (Name) from his spider-like hands. Satori stood on his toes to try and take her back, but all Ushijima had to do was lift (Name) up slightly higher out of Satori's reach.

"STOP PLAYING KEEP AWAY WITH (NAME)!" Taichi yells as he reaches for (Name), who was having a blast.

"(S/Name) would be horrified," Semi concludes as Soekawa nods. Ohira holds out his hands slightly as if he's ready to jump and catch (Name) at any moment. Some of the upperclassmen look on and sweat. One of those idiots was probably going to be captain next year.

"Oh, by the way," (Name) says as Ushijima holds her up high in the air away from Satori. She takes her hand and shields her eyes before looking around from her new vantage point. Taichi was about to have a heart attack from how high up Ushijima had her. "Where's Shirabu-kun and Yamagata-senpai?"

"Oh, Hayato went to go see if his phone was in the locker room, and your guess is as good as mine on Shirabu," Semi answered as he recalled his irritating underclassman and his cheek twitched slightly.

"Can we put (Name) down now!" Taichi pleaded "The bus is here!"

"Wait! Ushijima-senpai! Maybe if I stand on your shoulders I'll be able to see them!"

"NOOOOO!"

Taichi flopped in the very back of the bus next to (Name), who had Satori on her other side. Satori was searching in his bag for something. The bus soon filled out as Taichi was feeling the exhaustion of playing his first 5 set game.

"Hey, Taichi, you doing okay?" (Name) grabbed his hand and he nodded.

"Just tired. I'm probably gonna sleep the entire bus trip back." He leans on (Name)'s shoulder and falls asleep almost instantly

"... We aren't even moving yet..." (Name) sighed, but then ended up yawning. Satori noticed and slipped his hand into hers. He examines her face and begins thinking some before deciding to finally speak to the smart girl.

"Hey... can we make a new promise (Name)-chan?" Satori said in a low whisper as for only (Name) to hear.

"What's the promise?" She asks as she grips his hand, indicating she's accepting his affection.

"It's a bit selfish, to be honest, but I want you to promise me," he looks intently at her "To keep your eyes on me when I'm on the court." he gives her hand a light squeeze. His eyes were hard to read, and they made her heart flutter slightly.

"Okay, I promise to keep my eyes on you when you're on the court." He gives her a large smile before yawning. "Satori-senpai! You're gonna make me yawn too!" Satori let out a bit of a snicker before leaning his head on her shoulder. (Name) leaned back and let herself drift to sleep as well.


	9. Jealousy

The bus soon arrives at their designation, and (Name) presses her face against the glass.

"What are you so excited about (Name)-chan?" Satori asks the enthusiastic manager. She gives him a wide grin and giggles slightly.

"Itsuki says he's gonna meet us here! I'm excited to see him again!"

"Oh, Itsuki-kun lives in Tokyo now! I forgot about that!" (S/Name) chimes in from the seat ahead of the two. Taichi lets out a snort. She forgot about Itsuki, but he wasn't surprised. Itsuki was more like an adopted nephew.

"Mhm! He says basketball's been good, and his upperclassmen can be scary, but their coach is the scariest. He said she would get along well with (S/Name)-senpai the most." (Name) says as she sits back down in her seat next to Satori.

"So when are you gonna meet up with him (Name)-chan?" Satori asks her as she rests her chin on his shoulder. God, she was cute.

"He didn't say. He just said 'see you in Tokyo'" She pouted slightly, but Satori quickly acted to bring her out of any sort of bad mood.

"He just wants to surprise you! I'm sure he's got a gift for you too!" He rubbed his cheek against hers.

"Of course the doofus has a gift for her." Taichi turned his head from the seat across from them, a blanket he had gotten from (S/Name) was draped over him. "A hug is probably waiting for her too. The idiot's gonna smother her."

The team arrives late at night, and (Name) was exhausted. She had gotten changed quickly into her PJs and collapsed on her bed as soon as she was done.

The next day (Name) woke up refreshed, but something seemed off with the second year boys. (S/Name) seemed chipper, so she shrugged it off.

"Sleep well (Name)-chan?" (S/name) asked as she got on the bus. (Name) nodded and smiled.

"Yup! Excited to see what nationals look like!" (Name) replied as she sat next to Satori. He was on edge, but her presence soothed him.

Once they had arrived, it was (Name) that went to fill the water bottles for once, apparently (S/Name) had to talk to the second years quickly before they started their first game.

(Name) happily bounded down the hall with the water bottle bag. She was quietly humming to herself as she became more excited for nationals. The games would be very exciting, and she couldn't wait to see how far Shiratorizawa would get, she was also excited about exploring Tokyo. She opened a water bottle and began to fill it.

"I wonder if they'll have enough energy after nationals though... this will probably strain them quite a bit... especially Taichi." (Name) mused to herself. She didn't notice a tall, strong figure creeping behind her. A smile spread across his face as he heard her voice. It was sweet and innocent. His urge to touch her became greater the closer he got. Her hands looked soft, and her hips had gotten slightly wider, but she was beautiful even before her growth spurts. He had to keep his breathing under control. He wanted to latch onto her and just smother her with kisses, but he restrained himself as he covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" the blond questioned, and (Name) froze. His familiar voice filled her head, and soon flooded her with happiness

"Itsuki!" she cried out as she gives him a large hug. He was quick to lift her up and tighten his hold on her. "I missed you!" she smiles and giggles slightly.

"I missed you too, (Name)," ' _more than I thought I would._ '

"Are you staying to watch Taichi play? You can sit with me in the stands!" (Name) says excitedly as she pulls herself away from Itsuki. He reluctantly agrees to let her go. He furrows his brow

"You're a manager aren't you? Don't you sit on the bench?" he let his hand come up and play with her hair. Her big (E/C) eyes were more captivating than he remembered.

"There's only one manager allowed at a time on the bench, and (S/Name) needs to be there, I'll take up the mantle when she's graduated." (Name) says as she picks up the large bag of water bottles, but almost topples over in the process. Itsuki quickly steadies her by grabbing her waist.

"Hey! If those are heavy, let me carry them!" he says as he lifted them off her shoulder and placed them on his. His hand snuck back on her waist, however, and it did not go unnoticed by (Name). Itsuki's closeness was comforting like it always was, but she could feel something else. She could feel a longing, a desire. That part of his touch was uncomfortable, and she tried to wiggle out of it.

"You aren't going to be allowed in the gym doofus, but I guess you can carry them to the door." both (Name)'s and Itsuki's heads whip around to see a lazy looking redhead.

"Damn Taichi, 2 seconds after seeing me again and you're already calling me that, huh?" Itsuki removed his hands from (Name) and went over to the tall redhead with a smile.

"I call em like I see em," Taichi responds with a large grin. They quickly clasp their hands together in a brotherly greeting. (Name) lets a huge smile spread across her face as she lets out a giggle. Her brothers look over at her and smile as well. It was nice to be together like this once again.

Itsuki watches (Name) as she bounds into the gym with Taichi. (Name) ran over to her beloved senior (S/Name) and pointed him out quickly. Itsuki had (S/Name)'s eyes on him now, so he waved at her. (S/Name) waved back with a motherly smile. (S/Name) went back to caring for the team, which apparently included wrapping Taichi's fingers. Itsuki let out a small laugh. Taichi probably got his fingers wrapped so that he could be close to (S/Name)'s motherly energy for a bit. (Name) had no trouble with asking for hugs or embraces from the more motherly manager, but Taichi could never bring himself to ask for such affections. Once Taichi ran off, Itsuki saw someone he had all but forgotten about. His long fingers were placed in front of (S/Name) as he talked to (Name) about something, and she laughed. Not a fake laugh she used to get out of situations, but a genuine, wholehearted laugh. She gave him a real smile as well. Taichi did nothing about it.

Anger built up inside Itsuki as Tendou continued to interact with her, and as Taichi continued to ignore it. He couldn't believe it. Itsuki shook slightly but took a breath as he saw (Name) jog out of the gym. The game must be starting soon, so she'd be with him any minute.

(Name) quickly joined her big brother in the stands. He gave her a big smile as she ran to the railing.

"I'm excited! This is my first time with this team at nationals!" (name) begins as she looked out with a glitter in her eye. Itsuki couldn't help but swoon slightly. She really was beautiful. He looked her over but was soon heartbroken again when she saw her eyes intently focused on Tendou. He would give her peace signs or big, stupid, goofy grins after he successfully got a block, and she responded to them. Not only did she respond, she encouraged the actions. Satori relished the attention she gave her, and Itsuki understood the intoxicating feeling the middle blocker must have gotten from her.

He hated that he understood.

Days went on, and finally, Shiratorizawa got eliminated, but not before they were successfully in the top 8. They played well, and Itsuki was tortured day in and day out by (Name)'s flirtatious interactions with Satori that Taichi did nothing about. Itsuki became angrier and angrier with each passing day.

Finally, he exploded.

He was walking with Taichi and (Name), he was showing them several sights, but he seemed drained. He barely said a word to Taichi as he kept an intense gaze on (Name). Taichi noticed. Of course, he noticed. Itsuki was never good at hiding emotions, and his emotions for (Name) became clearer with each passing minute. Taichi was slightly disgusted with him. (Name) was a sister, not a lover. That's what she always would be. Taichi also knew that Itsuki was angry with Satori. He was angry with a version of Satori that came into existence through rumors and his own jealousy. The Satori he was angry at didn't exist in real life. (Name) was marveling at a fountain when Itsuki began to speak to Taichi.

"So how did he get so close to her? Why do you let him get close?" Taichi decided to play dumb

"Who?" Itsuki clicked his tongue.

"You know damn well who. How did Tendou get so close to (Name)? Why are you letting Tendou get close to (Name)?" he asked with more force. (Name) still hadn't noticed the two's aggression yet.

"He's not what you think, Itsuki." Taichi tried to keep a calm tone.

"I think I know damn well what he is, Taichi! A fucking creep that tried to take advantage of (Name) through her love of (S/Name)!" His voice rose and (Name) turned to the two. "And you're just twiddling your thumbs as you watch it happen!" Itsuki bit

"You dumbass! You don't know anything! He's a hell of a lot more help than you're being right now! You haven't been seeing what I have!" Taichi snarled back.

"Haven't been seeing what you have?! What have you been seeing? A freak and a monster preying on a rabbit is what I see!" (Name)'s eyes widen. This fight was far more intense than the playful banter that they used to have.

"Have you actually tried talking to the guy!?" Taichi growled as he raised his hands in a questioning manner. "I think you should really actually look at the guy, and then come back and tell me if you're acting out of concern or if you're being a selfish emotional prick!"

"Excuse me!? Why should I bother doing that! I went to middle school with the guy!" Itsuki was slightly belligerent and blinded by emotions

"A lot of people who treated (Name) like shit went to middle school with her too! Surprise surprise! There might be other people who get treated like shit for no good reason other than they're an easy FUCKING target!" Taichi raised his voice back. (Name) was scared. She had never seen them fight like this. She was afraid of everything right now, and her anxiety was about to peak.

"How do you know his real intentions!? How do you FUCKING know?! You don't! Better safe than sorry! Isn't that right?! Didn't you say that to me!? HUH!?" Itsuki shoved Taichi back slightly. (Name) gasped as she reached out to both of them. She wanted them to stop. She was afraid an actual fight was going to break out. "For all I know, you've stopped caring for (Name)! You stopped caring because she's too much!"

"I NEVER SAID THAT!" Taichi shot up and pushed Itsuki back. "Don't you DARE and try and put those FUCKING words in my mouth!"

"Then WHY are you defending that freak!? What could possibly make you do that, huh? Is it because he's a good teammate or something? What is it?" Itsuki sneered down at the volleyball player.

"I'm defending him because you're not thinking clearly!"

"How am I not thinking clearly!?"

"Because you're fucking jealous! Aren't you?! You're jealous that he's close! You're jealous that he's touching her! You're jealous because he's actually doing what you'll NEVER be able to do!" Taichi finally screams at him "You broke the one promise we made when we first began to protect her! You stopped seeing her as someone that we cherish and love as a family member, and you started to see her as a possible girlfriend! Once you started seeing her as that, she was no longer important to you! You became SELFISH!" Taichi was breathing heavily after that scolding. "Satori... Satori actually understands. I hate to admit it, but he understands her. He makes her smile, and he calms her down. Hell, he's been successful in pulling her out of grumpy mode once. I hated it at first, but we couldn't baby her forever. She was going to grow up."

"I knew she would grow up," Itsuki admits. "I knew that, and I think I realized it sooner than you did. After I realized that, I couldn't help myself. She... became too tempting. I'm starting to think if I went to Shiratorizawa with you guys, I would have tried to make her mine a lot sooner than now." Itsuki's fingers began to twitch. He glanced over to where (Name) stood. Her eyes were wide and her shoulders shook. Her heart was beating fast and her mind was blank. Was that really what Itsuki thought of her? Was that really what Taichi thought of Satori? "I need you, (Name)." He began to walk towards her, but Taichi dashed in front of her.

"If you're really our friend Itsuki, then you'll stop. You've listened to what we had to say, and I've listened to you, but I still firmly believe that she doesn't need you to be like this. This can only do harm." He tried to de-escalate the situation.

"I don't want to be her friend, Taichi! You know this!" Itsuki screams at him. "And I haven't heard from her yet. You always have thoughts (Name)! What are you thinking?!" He yelled around Taichi, scaring her even more. Taichi pushed him back once more

"Don't you dare put her on the spot!" Taichi screamed back "You're being overly emotional right now, and it's scaring her! You're too much for her at this point! You aren't even listening to your friend!"

"After this Taichi, I don't think we can consider one another friends," Itsuki says coldly. The frost of his words creates a frozen spear that pierces (Name)'s heart, shattering it. Taichi had a feeling he would say something like that, but he had to protect (Name).

(Name)'s shaking stopped completely, and her breaths were shallow. Her heart beat so hard that it caused her body to twitch at times. The muttering around them was empty, and her head was spinning. Her jaw was clenched tightly. She could no longer hear the two boys before her bickering, but she felt a buzz in her pocket. Out of instinct, she pulled it out and checked the message. She calmed down slightly as she saw the familiar contact name

 **7:04 pm** **Guess Who:** hey! you still with your brothers? do you wanna grab some food? if you want to meet me I'm at this little restaurant! ill send you my location!

Her head was still slightly dizzy, but Satori's text was like an angel being sent down to save her. As soon as his location came in, she got up and dashed away from the two boys.

"(Name)!"

"(Name)!? Where are you going?"

Satori sat on a bench near a restaurant next to a small urban area lined with shops and bars. Lights were strung from post to post, causing the street to look a lot brighter than it actually was. The sway of people was rhythmic and natural as they went in and out of restaurants and shops. The night was fast approaching, but the evening seemed to last forever.

Satori was worried about (name). (S/Name) had sent him a text requesting to check up on her. When prompted for a reason, she only replied with 'just a hunch.' He did as she requested, and (Name) hadn't replied. He began to worry slightly. He was on the lookout for her, and his phone was gripped tightly in his hand. He saw that she had read the text, and she had received and looked at his location as well, so why hadn't she replied? He checked his phone again just in case he somehow missed her text, but he had gotten nothing. He double checked his messages, but as soon as he opened the messenger app, he was tackled by a quick, small, girl. He quickly looked and realized it was (Name).

"Eh!? (Name)-chan? What's up?" he stood up so that the girl wouldn't have to bend to hold him anymore. Her grip on him was incredibly tight, and her silence was concerning. He slid his phone into his pocket before embracing the girl with one hand and tilting her face upwards with the other. Her eyes were wide and puffy. "(Name)-chan, what happened?!" (Name) gripped his back tighter in an attempt to soothe herself with him. "Hey, everything okay?"

"They fought... Itsuki and Taichi had a fight... I don't think they're friends anymore..." (Name) sniffles and Satori registers what she's said. Itsuki, the boy who had been glaring at him the entire time at nationals, had been making his way to (Name). It was easy for Satori to tell that the boy had a crush on (Name). He already had a guess, but he asked her anyway.

"What did they have a fight about?" he asked in a grave tone. (Name) didn't dare answer him. His grip on her loosened. Itsuki had known her for longer, and if it would make her happy, Satori would let her go. "Was it about me being close to you?" He guessed. (Name) looked up at him with her big puffy eyes. "Itsuki doesn't like me, does he?" Satori began to have slight flashbacks to elementary where kids would become his friends, only for their other friends to pull them away from him, calling him a monster or a freak. He never had solid friendships in elementary because of it.

_'I guess relationships were doomed to be the same way.'_

"Satori-senpai..." (Name) felt his grip on her loosen even more as he slid his hands off her.

"You don't have to keep that dating promise with me you know, it was kind of a joke to begin with, but I'm glad you humored me this long. I can just leave you alone. Itsuki-san would probably be happy with that." his smile was painful as he drifted further away from her. "He really likes you, y'know. You'd probably make a good couple." his hands rested at his side. "Well, I can make sure you get back to the hotel okay, or I can leave you here, it's up to you what I do-"

"Satori." her voice and lack of honorifics at the end of his name caught his attention. "Can you... make me a promise?" he blinked several times and nodded

"Yeeeeaaaah? I guess? What is it (L/Name)-san?" (Name) looks up at him with a much more mature look than he was used to. Her distress had aged her drastically.

"My first promise I want you to make me is that you'll always call me (Name)-chan or just (Name). Nicknames are fine too." she walks closer to him and wraps her arms around him once again, this time with a tighter grip. "And my next promise I want you to make is..." She looks up at him with a reddened face, "Never leave me." she pulled him down slightly and stood on her toes so that she could place her forehead against his. "You make things better somehow..." His heart raced as she held him there. Her hands were soft, but her grip was firm. He was taken aback by this girl. She was choosing him over someone who had been with her for years, she was choosing him because he apparently was better for her emotional state than the boy who promised to protect her. She chose him because she wanted to, not because of a joking promise. She was staying with him because of him, not the promise. She made promises to him because she wanted to be with him.

_Every promise I make to you will be my silent declaration of love._

"I promise." he returned her embrace and leaned into the affectionate touch. "Hey, are you still hungry? There is a restaurant right there you know,"

"I want to stay like this for just a little longer..." (Name) coos, causing a shiver to run up Satori's back.

His touch gave her butterflies, and his jokes made her laugh. His voice was energizing and calming at the same time. He understood. She couldn't imagine having to live without him. At first, the promises were a way of keeping him at bay, but she slowly and genuinely began to love him. She didn't have enough courage to say 'I love you,' so she needed to find a substitute, just to get her feelings out. She soon found that the best substitute was making promises. It was a vow, an oath, something that sounded childish but meant the world to her. Isn't that what a proclamation of love was anyways? A vow and an oath? An oath that says one cares for another?

_'I love you' is a promise of emotion. A promise of passion. A promise of protection._

"Hey, (Name)-chan," Satori says once more as she lifts her eyes to him. For once his heart is steady, but her gaze could melt him. "Make as many promises with me as you need, I'll always be there, kay?" he gives her a big goofy grin, which (Name) replies with a gentle smile.

"Promise?" she whispers against his chest as she cuddled into him.

"I promise." with those two words, (Name) felt her shattered heart slowly being placed back together by Satori.

Ex: She already knew Taichi was probably looking for her, if not Itsuki as well. She honestly didn't want to see Itsuki after he had said all those horrid things about Satori. She wished it could have turned out differently, but things work out the way they do for a reason.

(Name) had texted Taichi where she went. She didn't want to speak to Itsuki. Apparently, he had been dragged off by his team captain and coach. His emotional state was a mess as he continued to try and call (Name) every 5-10 minutes. Eventually (Name) began texting Taichi through Satori's phone so that she could turn her phone off and not be bothered by Itsuki's calls. Satori eventually made it back to the hotel with (Name), her hand tightly gripping his. The sky was dark, but the sun still tried to hold tight to the evening, causing the air to look red. The clouds mixed in some pink hues and the lights from the city created artificial stars.

"Thank god she was with you, (Name) you had me worried you know!" Taichi scolded (Name) slightly after thanking Satori. She flinched slightly and gripped Satori's hand a bit harder. "But I'm sorry you had to see that argument. I was going to confront him once we were alone, but I guess he got too heated..." Taichi takes a deep breath before looking at (Name) again. "How you feeling?"

"I'm doing okay now, I think. Satori helped a lot." Taichi nodded as he glanced at his tall senior.

"Yeah, I noticed he tends to do that." Satori lets another large smile spread across his face as (Name) leans into him. "I'll tell you the details later, Satori-senpai. For now, it's late. We should get some rest or (S/Name)-senpai will kill us."

"Don't need to tell me twice! (S/Name)'s probably already raring to go! Come on (Name)-chan! I can carry you so we can go faster!"

"NO, YOU MIGHT DROP HER! SATORI-SENPAI!"


	10. Kiss

(Name) was awestruck with her fellow first years and Soekawa. The massive imposing building was almost too much for the little rabbit as she looked over at the second-years. Satori couldn't help but let out a small laugh at (Name)'s expression. She was too cute. There was also a hushed laugh from (S/name) as well.

"We were just like that," The libero pats Taichi's back and heads in. (Name) stood in awe for a few more seconds before slowly following the other first years. Taichi was comforting, but Shirabu was a different story. She really didn't know him, even if he was Taichi's roommate. Shirabu tended to spend more time in the library or locked on his side of the dorm away from Taichi. Whenever (Name) visited, he would get pissy and lock himself away or head out. He hadn't fully gotten himself acquainted with the team, even if he went to nationals with them.

(Name) didn't have time to be in a daze, however, as (S/Name) called to her quickly

"(Name)-chan, we have a lot to prepare while the boys warm up to go through the mountains. We should get started." (Name) shook her head slightly to shake the hypnotic state she was in before nodding and jogging in behind her beloved senior.

Lots of work went into preparing light meals so that the boys wouldn't feel sluggish for their practice match. (S/Name) monitored over everything to make sure it was just right.

"So they have a practice match today? That means I get to sit on the bench too, right?" (Name) asks her senior.

"Yup! I'm gonna try and teach you as much as I can while you're on the bench though, that is if Coach doesn't prod me for my opinion on things"

"You sure know a lot about volleyball, huh Senpai?" (S/Name) nods as she taps a spoon against the edge of a pot. Suddenly the second years slide into the doorway, and Satori immediately goes over and embraces (Name).

"(Name)-chan! I'm back!" He coos as she begins to giggle at his touch. He rubs his face into her cheek. Semi sneers slightly.

"Will you quit that, Satori? We came in here to help." (Name) and Satori turned their head towards the setter and stuck their tongues out in a childish manner to show their disapproval of Semi's scolding. The setter only sighs as he looks over to Ushijima. The tall, broad ace was solely focused on (S/Name). He sighs and sweats while Ohira and Hayato pat his back. Things were tough for the second momma.

"Do you need help?" Ushijima asks as he holds out his hands slightly. (S/Name) sighed. She apparently had gotten more used to Ushijima being like this

"Wakatoshi, we've got it, but if you really want to help..." she trailed off as she noticed Shirabu in the doorway. (Name) had noticed him too, but he seemed peeved. "Oh! Shirabu-kun! We'll have everything out in a minute!" (S/Name) chimed. The second years seemed soothed by her voice. She was Momma one after all. (Name) noticed Shirabu click his tongue before heading to the dining area. She could tell his anger building, and she could feel something was about to snap.

She was right. Shirabu ended up exploding on her precious senior when she was only trying to be helpful.

"Would you just leave me alone already!" he aggressively bit, silencing the room in the process. (Name) widened her eyes. She had never seen anyone treat her senior that way "You're just the manager! So leave me alone! What do you know!?" She felt a rage build in her, but she was also scared. "Why do you care!?"

Why was her senior being silent? (Name) knew her senior could tell him off at that moment, and make a fool of him.

But maybe that's why she didn't. A pained smile slightly crosses her face.

"You're right." she says in a soft tone, perhaps in an attempt to calm him "I am just the manager. I will leave you be then." she then lifts herself from the table she was at with Shirabu and walks over to the second years. She grips Semi's shoulder and shoves him down back into his chair. She whispers for them to stop glaring, and then goes to leave the dining hall. (Name) could feel herself getting grumpy.

"(S/Name)-chan, could you begin preparing for the practice match while you're up? The other team should be here in about an hour." the old demon coach called to (S/Name). (Name) looked over at her senior as she nodded, bowed and headed out. (Name) quickly followed so that she could be of use.

"We're going up against a college team (Name)-chan, so this is going to be a lot tougher on the boys." (S/Name) says as she placed an ice bag against a wall.

"(S/Name)-senpai..." (Name) whispered as she placed down a first aid kit.

"You're about to ask why I didn't tell off Shirabu-kun, aren't you?" (Name) looks up at her senior and blinks "I have my reasons. Shirabu is a tough case, and I need to handle it my way." (Name) furrowed her brow as she became slightly grumpy at her senior. "(Name), I'm going to pull myself back a little from prep set up. Wakatoshi will probably be upset, but I need you to fill the hole I leave." (Name) looks up at her senior. "As much as you don't like it, one day I will graduate and leave the position of head manager to you, this is a good chance to get a taste for it." (S/name) smiles over at (Name). "I can already tell you'll be a good one." it truly dawned on (Name) at that moment that (S/Name) will leave her, just like she did in middle school, but this time she's leaving something much larger than what she did before.

"I'll... I'll do my best!" (Name) proclaimed "I promise!" (S/Name) smiles as she preps the area where the boys would be putting their things.

Once both teams were in the gym, (Name) cracked down and began doing double what she would normally do. She had been observing (S/Name) for a while, but actually doing what (S/Name) did was still a bit wobbly. She did her best to lift her team's spirits, but she found herself avoiding Shirabu. Taichi and Satori also watched her interactions with the setter closely. (Name) could feel her senior's pain as she pulled herself back, and she could also feel how it upset Ushijima. When the game started, (S/Name) continued to only watch as her team played. (Name) was amazed by how high level the college boys seemed to be. Their read blocks were advanced, and they constantly kept the ball from being simply spiked down on their side of the court. They moved well, and it seemed to fluster Shirabu.

"Thoughts?" Washijo prompted (Name)'s senior, and (Name) began taking mental notes.

"The first thing that's going to get to them is the pressure. When you go up against someone that seems perfect, it gets to your head." (Name) blinked some before looking back out at an increasingly panicked Shirabu. (Name) tilted her head, but she soon realized that part of her job in the future would be to look after not just the health of her team, but the emotional state as well.

"You won't be able to bring him down gently eh?" The old voice grumbles. (S/Name) shakes her head in a grave manner.

(Name) began observing closer and began thinking about how Shirabu's hands moved along with where the blocker was. She began to think about the court as a whole instead of just looking on from one side. It became 3 dimensional instead of a 2-dimensional show of athleticism. Washijo noticed (Name)'s enrapture in the game but soon turned his attention to his Golden Manager.

"The strong blocks, the constant one touches, the excellent use of dumps and the almost flawless receives, not to mention the setter with a cool head and textbook form." (Name) watches as Ushijima is slightly hesitant but refuses to let the ball drop. "This won't end well, A setter is the brain of the court. Mixed with the Ace's muscles and the Libero's heart, they create a healthy body. If one isn't working, then the entire system fails."

'A body...' (Name) processes the analogy and begins to think of the court as such. Things began to make more sense. She finally understood the graveness of the situation as the other team's immune system began to kick into action.

"Shirabu..." (S/Name) drags her gaze down. Ushijima's spike is sent straight into the ground of Shiratorizawa's court. (Name) continued to stare with a blank expression as she begins to process how it happened. She needed more information.

'(S/Name) said it was a buildup against Shirabu-kun that caused that...' (Name) thought to herself as she noticed Shirabu's shaking fingers as he's switched out. He knew what went wrong too.

"Shirabu," Washijo called to the first year. (Name) noticed and watched as Shirabu jogged over. (S/Name) seemed anxious and looked away, but (Name) watched as it happened. Washijo had taken his hand and smacked the boy across his face. (Name) could feel her heart clench, even if she was still upset at the boy for disrespecting (S/Name). The other coach had raised his hand towards Shirabu to see if he could comfort the boy after Washijo's aggressive display. (Name) could only wonder if the older coach had smacked him not just because of his flustered state, but because of his outburst at her senior.

'He deserved it.' (Name) thought as she pouted slightly.

Even if Shirabu had snapped at her, (S/Name) continued to give him sympathetic looks and motherly vibes, much to (Name)'s chagrin. She didn't believe he deserved them. Tears were slightly forming in his eyes.

"Sit outside the gym and really think about how you screwed up that toss. Got it? I don't want you coming back in here for the rest of the game." Washijo commanded. Both managers watch as Shirabu, visibly upset from Washijo's orders, jogs out of the gym. (S/Name) wasted no time and acted.

"(Name)-chan, do you have this?" (Name) looks at (S/Name) with a slightly surprised look, but knew how the motherly manager could get.

"I think so? Are you going with him? He doesn't exactly like you..." (Name) pouted slightly as her senior makes a few motions to a very excited Soekawa. He seemed happy to be using the language. (S/Name) then grabs a few things before turning to her junior.

"It doesn't matter if he likes it. No one likes medicine, but we all need it." (S/Name) replies. "I'll be there for any of our members, regardless if they want me or not, and right now he's the one who needs me the most." (Name) was slightly taken aback as she saw the golden mother eagle fly out of the gym, leaving the bitter little rabbit. (Name) turned back to the game and takes in more information.

'Maybe it's who she is as a person, but I wouldn't have been able to forgive him...' she watches Tendou make a guess block in retaliation of the lost point, slamming it down. He excitedly looks over to (Name), but he noticed her intense stare. She was taking in everything she possibly could. Taichi noticed it too. She was thinking, but not just any thinking, she was intensely focused as well. She was learning.

When (S/Name) came back, she didn't have her jacket. She was more chatty with the team as well. She apparently told Soekawa to inform the others that they are not to be aggressive towards Shirabu at all or face consequences. It confused (Name). (S/name) could feel (Name)'s eyes on her.

"(Name)-chan, I need to ask you a favor." (Name) lifted her head from the game to look at her pristine senior. "I need you to utilize that gift you have. I need you to utilize your observative behaviors, and I need you to provide tough love mixed with your sweetness." (S/Name) looks over and smiles "I need you to be grumpy. I need you to be grumpy when Shirabu gets abrasive, and I need you to be sweet when he gets flustered and upset."

"GEH?!" (Name) exclaims.

"I know, I'm asking you to look after Shirabu when you're the head manager. I'll give you more instructions on others when they become relevant, but let's face it, Taichi's easy to take care of." (S/Name) looked out at the court again. "I know you can do it." (Name) blinks several times before realizing what (S/Name) needed her to do. (S/Name) was drafted into the role of mom. She was aggressive with the second-years when needed, and would probably punish the underclassmen when they were getting out of line too, but only after establishing a good link with them. (Name) needed to be something different. She needed to be stubborn with them, but also sweet. She needed to be a sister.

"Okay. I'll do that."

After the game, Shirabu had returned (S/Name)'s jacket and silently thanked her. She nodded before taking the icebox and heading back to her and (Name)'s shared room. Shirabu was looking down as if he was in thought.

"She help?" Ushijima took this as his chance to approach the setter. Shirabu's head shot up and looked at the powerful volleyball player. Most of the rest of the team cleared out except for the second years, Shirabu, and (Name). (Name)'s face held tight to a pout. Satori thought it was adorable, but he was slightly freaking out and trying to guess what was wrong. Ushijima continued speaking to the setter as he walked slightly closer "You asked her in the dining area why she cared and what did she know. You also told her she was just a manager." Ushijima tilted his head forward "I can answer the questions, and disprove the statements you made"

"I'm listening, Ushijima-senpai," Shirabu states as he shows respect to the ace.

"Here, how about we all sit down?" Ohira suggested as he motions to the center of the now-empty court.

Once seated, (Name)'s pouty stare never left Shirabu. He glared back slightly, as he was uncomfortable with how she stared. Whenever Satori would talk to her though, she would give him her cheery face before continuing to pout at Shirabu.

'She's like an annoying little sister...' He thought before ignoring her and turning his attention to Ushijima.

"Ushijima-senpai, can I start?" The second-years all turn their attention to the tiny manager. Satori was surprised with (Name)'s sudden boldness, but he took a guess and thought that it had to do with her speaking about her senior. She always became braver when speaking of (S/Name)

"If you wish (Name)-san." Shirabu noticed his respect for (Name) and decided to listen.

"You're an absolute idiot if you haven't figured out that caring is just a personality trait for (S/Name)-senpai you **Doofus**." (Name) pouted and the second-years were taken aback by her aggression. "She actually wants to see you do well because she just does care. Asking her why she cares is like asking your mom why she loves you, IDIOT!"

"Ah... is that why you're pouting (Name)-chan?" Satori asks. Ohira placed a hand on her shoulder and attempts to soothe her

"(Name)-chan, I think that's enough..." Yamagata side eyes a surprised Shirabu

"Congrats, you've unlocked (Name)-san's grumpy mode..." After her grumpy mode showed up at regional finals, Satori, Taichi, and (S/Name) informed the rest of the second-years (Name)'s emotional tendencies.

"People can care for you without having an ulterior motive, you dummy!" (Name) shouts again, but after that last shout, she calmed down and took a deep breath before her face returned to normal and her voice became sweet again. "Thank you Ushijima-senpai." he let out a quick hum and nodded at her. He seemed to agree with what she had said. Shirabu took notice as he stared wide-eyed at the girl he had thought was a timid rabbit. (Name) had done her job by establishing that contact with him.

The rest of the talk was back and forth between the second-years as they continued to explain (Name)'s precious senior. (Name) would occasionally chime in, but just to add a detail or two. Shirabu was slowly becoming more and more horrified with each word they said. He was coming to terms with just how wrong he was when he snapped at (S/Name). After the talk, he thanked them and quickly walked out of the gym. Satori leaned into (name) and rubbed his face against her cheek

"You were really brave (Name)-chan!" He comments as Ohira nodded at their timid and sometimes anxious manager.

"(S/Name)-senpai wanted me to become a certain type of manager, much like she's the motherly one." Semi tilted his head at her. "She wanted me to be stubborn with Shirabu when he's stubborn, and comforting when he's emotional. She's training me to be a good head manager when she graduates." (Name) said in a serious tone. The second-years smile, of course, she would be thinking of the future of the team way before she needed to be.

Once the party disperses, (Name) was left alone with Satori again. (Name) and Satori were relaxing in the room Satori was sharing with Eita as they unwound from the day they had.

"Man, there was a lot of drama today..." Satori sighed as he rested his head on (Name)'s shoulder. Her back was against his chest as he rested against a wall. His arms were wrapped around her waist. She was reading a manga she brought with her. Satori had already read it, so he was skimming it with her.

"Yeah... I hope (S/Name) was able to establish a good bond with Shirabu-kun..."

"You got really mad at him, I was surprised!"

"He was being stupid." Satori smiled at the childish remark.

"You're too cute (Name)-chan! Hey! Can I give you a kiss?" (Name) jumped up and turned to face the redhead with a flaming face and wide eyes.

"H-Huh!?"

"You've given me kisses! I want to give you one!" He said in a cheerful tone. (Name) didn't know if she could handle a kiss from him.

But she wanted one.

"I-I-I" She stuttered, sending Satori into an infatuation fit. He was in love.

He lifted himself off the floor and away from the wall he was leaning against with (Name), he then carefully brought himself closer as to not cause the rabbit to flee.

"I'll only kiss you though if you promise it's okay." (Name) heard that word and suddenly calmed down. He wanted to make a promise. She pressed her lips together as she stared out into nothing. He came closer to her and touched her arm. Her gaze shot up to his. She then took a deep breath and allowed herself to be embraced by him.

"I promise... it's okay to kiss me." her heart raced. His was in no better state. She didn't specify the terms of the kiss, so he could kiss her however he liked. He could kiss her on the cheek or forehead, but he was dying to finally get a kiss from her lips. The urge was too strong, and he impulsively went for it even if he had no idea what he was doing. Once his lips came to hers, it was over. The sweetness of her intimate touch was intoxicating and addicting. His body froze up as she awkwardly leaned into the kiss. She had no idea what she was doing either, but the feeling from it was exciting and nerve-wracking. She felt herself drop the manga she was reading as she wrapped her arms around his back. She had given her first kiss to him, and he seemed to cherish it. Each passing second made their faces steam more.

Satori shook slightly as (Name) pulled away. Without her supporting his body, he felt like he was going to fall over. (Name) looked up slowly at Satori before realizing what had just happened and turning completely red and covering her face. Satori's mind was completely empty as he stared at her.

Eventually, it became too much and (Name) ran out of the room covering her face and a giddy smile. She ended up running past Semi and Ohira, who were coming to tell Satori that the bath was now open for them to use.

"Satori? Everything okay in here?" Ohira questions before peeking his head in with Semi. Satori had fallen on the floor with a completely reddened face. He twitched slightly as bliss had fully enveloped his face. Semi and Ohira had a questioning look on their face before walking in and beginning to poke him

"Satori." his roommate called to him "Come on, man," he poked him again.

"He seems incapacitated," Ohira mentions as he moves one of Satori's stiff arms slightly

"(Name)-chan must have done something. Last time I saw him like this is when we first met her in that ice cream place we got (S/Name) ice cream from. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and he was unresponsive the entire time back. I think we just gotta wait for him to recover." Semi states as he begins poking Satori's forehead.

"... then why are you still poking him?"

"Eh because it's fun. Payback for the bastard screwing with me so often."


	11. Rules

The bus ride back was a bit awkward for (Name). She sat next to Satori like she always did, but she would blush every time she looked at him. She would also blush when he showed any kind of affection as well. Satori took a guess and guessed that she was probably still reeling from their first kiss. He would try to approach her gently, but it only sometimes worked. Taichi took notice and made several notes mentally.

Once back in the dorms, (Name) confesses to Taichi what happened.

"YOU LET HIM KISS YOU!?" He shouted at her more out of shock instead of anger. (Name) took a deep breath and nods at her older brother. He knew she would grow up, but he hoped that maybe it wouldn't be this fast. Shirabu stuck his head out of his room and glared at Taichi. Taichi glared back.

"Why is it such a big deal? They're going out, aren't they?" Shirabu sneers at his roommate. Taichi lifted a finger

"Aha ha! That's where you're wrong. (Name) still isn't technically dating him, although unfortunately, she inevitably will."

"It's a weird story, Shirabu-kun, want to hear it?" (Name) looked up at him with expectant eyes. He read them more as a "shut up and sit down, you're hearing this." look. Shirabu sighed as he opened the door more to let himself out. If he was going to be closer to his team, he might as well start with his fellow first years. He sat at one of the stools near the kitchenette. He rested his elbow on the counter and his head in his hand. He gave his attention to the two other first years. Taichi was surprised that he was actually making an attempt, but (Name) knew better.

"Why does this team have so many stories..." Shirabu sighs

"Just the way it is I guess," Taichi replies. "It's always been dramatic. There's probably more drama if you ask (S/Name)-senpai about it. For example, everyone knows that (S/Name) and Ushijima-senpai are madly in love with one another, but we're trying to get things to move naturally" Taichi gets up from his seat and heads to the fridge they share. Shirabu stared down for a moment as he processed what his roommate just told him.

"So it's not a big secret?"

"Oh no it was, (Name) just filled us in on the missing pieces as soon as she found out." Taichi held the handle to the fridge as he continued to talk to Shirabu "It's the biggest of the Shiratorizawa volleyball team drama."

"I see... in order for her to make herself more vulnerable so that I would trust her, she told me about her feelings for Ushijima-senpai."

"Wow! It took (S/Name)'s roommate screaming at her for me to finally get it out of her."

"Well, when she told you, it really must have felt like vulnerable information. She still meant everything she told you. Continue to trust her" Taichi turns his head to his pseudo-sister "You can begin (Name), I'm just grabbing a drink. (Name) nods.

"Well, it all started our third year of middle school actually." (Name) recalled. "Satori-senpai was asking around about (S/Name)-senpai."

"Asking around?" Shirabu wasn't as quiet as he was when Ushijima told him (S/Name)'s story. Taichi opened a can of juice and took a sip while still standing at the fridge.

"Apparently (S/Name) was very... unkind when she first joined on as a manager. She was still very bitter about having to give up volleyball and thought the boys were constantly pitying her."

"Turns out they had no idea who she was. We knew her, the entire girls' team first string knew her, and some of the middle school boys volleyball boys knew her, but they didn't." Taichi adds as he leans against the counter. "But it was uncommon for the boys' team to go watch the girls play. Rare even." Taichi takes another sip.

"That rarity causes a great divide between the girls' and boys' teams. Major players from both teams can pass each other in the halls and have no idea that one or the other plays volleyball. Big players like Ushijima-senpai rarely get misidentified though," (Name) states. "It's a sad thing, but it's unfortunately commonplace in both Shiratorizawa schools."

"I had no idea that (Name) played Volleyball when I first met her because of that distance. I only found out after I began being friends with her. I think it was through her that I met (S/Name)-senpai."

"Mhm, so because they had no idea, Ohira, Semi, Yamagata, and Ushijima all sent Satori to investigate and to try and dig into (S/Name)'s head."

"They couldn't ask her? She seems reasonably approachable." Shirabu loosens up as he slouches slightly.

"Have you ever seen her angry?" Taichi quickly asks. Shirabu thinks back.

"Once, at Fukurodani's ace."

"Okay, if that's a 10, scale it back to maybe a 5. Add dead inside and that was (S/Name) her first year here apparently." Taichi makes circles with his hands lazily as he explains.

"She was unapproachable. From what I heard, she even shoved Ushijima-senpai at one point." Shirabu widened his eyes. He became more enthralled with what (Name) and Taichi had to say.

"Anyways, Satori-senpai came to the middle school and began asking around. Happened to find (Name) and I and..." Taichi grimaces. Shirabu could tell that was another story.

"Itsuki. We don't talk to him anymore." (Name) said in a dead tone. "He began asking about (S/Name), and I got flustered. So I made him promise to try and be her friend. I wanted her to be happy again, as a result, he said that if he kept that promise, I would date him in high school." Shirabu flinched. "Later that year, we found out that he and the other second years were taking care of (S/Name) after she got really sick. He had kept his promise"

"We found out because (Name) and I walked into the same ice cream shop that Semi, Hayato, and Satori were in." Taichi takes another sip of his juice before Shirabu casually requests that he takes a can of coffee from the fridge for him. Taichi grunts but does as the boy requests. "Satori saw (Name) and was all over her." He tosses the can to Shirabu, who catches it with ease. "I was able to pry him off her after he finally got a kiss on the cheek from her. He couldn't handle it and froze up. After that, (Name) wanted to help (S/Name)-senpai more and became the assistant manager."

"He began really pushing the promise, but I reminded him that I didn't say when in high school I would date him."

"Never make a promise with (Name). More likely than not, she's thought through all the possibilities and finding loopholes." Taichi advises. Shirabu furrowed his brow at (Name), and she gave him a sweet smile.

"She looks innocent."

"I know, but if it says anything, she's got an academic scholarship." (Name) held a hand to her lower lip and held a mischievous smile

"I'm actually an evil genius." Taichi scoffed.

"You're about as evil as that stuffed rabbit you sleep with" (Name) pouted

"Leave Mr. buns out of this!" Shirabu couldn't help but let out a laugh. Some of the second years could be annoying, but his fellow first years didn't seem that bad. "But, yeah, I haven't actually agreed to start dating him yet."

"And yet you let him kiss you." Taichi sighed.

"I think you're doing it in the wrong order (L/Name)-san" Shirabu chimes in. (Name)'s face burst into flames.

"I-I don't know what came over me! H-He caught me by surprise when he asked if he could! I... I... I..." (Name) covered her face and shook a little.

"Did you make a promise with him?" Taichi asks as he slumps over on the counter. (Name) nods.

"Did you specify terms? If you haven't then you can go and specify some to make things more comfortable for you like you did with the first one." Shirabu suggests before taking a sip of his drink. Taichi was surprised. He was actually being amiable with (Name). Maybe it was because of her scolding?

"I did leave the promise open, so I can go back in and make some terms," she says as she begins to calm herself down.

"You seem nicer all the sudden." Taichi points out and Shirabu glares at his roommate.

"(S/Name)-senpai would be upset if I continued to be rude to you both for no other reason than I could." Taichi smiles

"Ah, So you don't want to make mom disappointed. Fair enough" Shirabu sighed

"She's not my mother." (Name) giggled at his remark

"She becomes everyone's mom at some point, you just haven't been letting her. She really cares you know. Probably too much sometimes..." Taichi banters slightly.

"Yeah, I remember a time I cried for an hour in her lap. She was late for a class because of it." (Name) sweats. "But I'm glad to see that you care, even if it took you a while," Shirabu blushed and looked away as he took a sip of his drink. "Thanks for helping me think of a solution to my problem, by the way."

"Not everything has to be dramatic, you know." Shirabu bites back. Taichi lets out a single laugh

"This is high school, and she reads way too many shojos. I think drama is just a fact of life for (Name)." Taichi then looks over at his pseudo-sister "Just be careful, kay?" (Name) nods

"Oh! By the way! Shirabu! Do you want to study with us for exams? The make-ups are during a practice game we're gonna have, so we can't fail any."

"I don't plan on failing any, but... Sure. I'll study with you." Shirabu was reluctant, but he knew he needed to make an attempt with his fellow first years. (Name) laughed at his reluctance and he glared at her with a slight pout. Taichi began laughing as well.

Scratch that, they might be annoying.

Later that day, (Name) was in her dorm, cuddling up against her favorite stuffed animal as she sat on her bed. She was looking over some stats and some handwritten notes that (S/Name) had given her and was trying to learn about all the things that (S/Name) saw when she observed these charts. As she studied her senior's tidy handwriting, her phone buzzed. She checked it and blushed when she saw the familiar contact name.

 **8:24 pm** **Guess Who:** can i come in? i want to talk

(Name) pauses before responding and made a slight realization.

 **8:25 pm** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** Wait, come in? Like you're already at my dorm?

 **8:25 pm** **Guess Who:** maaaaaaaaybe?

(Name) lets her lips part slightly and feels the corners of them rise.

 **8:26 pm ━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** Yeah, you can come in, I wanted to talk too.

After (name) texted that she heard the door to her dorm open then close. She then saw her room door slide open slowly to reveal Satori with his usual expression. He poked his head in and smiled at her. She blushed but did her best not to just turn away and hide under her covers. He slowly enters the room and slightly shuts the door behind him.

"Hey," he says casually. He didn't want her gaze to leave him, so he did his best to not overwhelm her. He couldn't help it sometimes though as he jumped up on her bed sat across from her. Her eyes widen as she blushes more. She looked away at the ground. It was a small gesture, but it was huge at the same time. She took a deep breath and traced her gaze back up to him.

He really hated it when he couldn't be impulsive with her. He wanted to just touch her and hold her whenever. He wanted to be selfish, but he understood that sometimes it was too much. Just holding her hand was an achievement in itself.

At the same time, that wait made everything so much more rewarding. When he made progress with her, it felt amazing.

"Hey," She finally responded back. "I... wanted to talk about K-kissing..." Satori smiled as he widened his eyes.

"Wow! Jumping right in, huh (Name)-chan?" (Name) quickly hid under her covers. Her short, painted nails dug into her fluffy (F/C) sheets.

"D-Don't make it sound like that!" (Name) waved with one hand. Satori couldn't help but let out a laugh. Teasing her seemed fun too. "I wanted to talk about it because we left the promise open." (Name) peeked out slightly. Her (E/c) eyes slightly reflected the low light in the room, giving her a dreamy look. She was used to Satori's intense stare, but in the light of her lamp cast dramatic shadows, making his gaze look less human. She couldn't help but feel safe under his watch, however.

"Don't worry (Name), that's what I wanted to talk about too! You've been skittish ever since we made that promise." he then got on all fours and crawled his way to her. She squeaked and hid under her sheets. "See? I can't even come near you!"

"Y-You are in my bed too you know!" She scolded as she lightly smacked his shoulder. He gets the message and backs off. "But..." (Name) pulls the blankets off her and looks up at him again "It's because I'm... embarrassed. I... L-L-Liked" Her voice lowered to a whisper and she covered her mouth. Satori really had to try to hear her next few words.

"Eh? I can't hear you." Satori inches closer again, but slowly as not to startle (Name). His face held a teasing look.

"I liked the kiss! Okay!" She suddenly shouts at him but becomes red-faced again and hides. "But I want rules..."

"Okay, what kind of rules do you want?" he tilted his head as he kept his smug smile smeared across his face. She finally looked him in the eyes.

"Ones on the cheek and forehead are okay anytime, but I'm allowed to reject them if they're too much..." Satori couldn't help himself.

"Eh? What are okay?" (Name) became flustered again and pouted at him. "A-ah! (Name)-chan! It was just a joke! Sorry!" he pled with her. She was adorable as all hell now. She held a stuffed rabbit to her chest as she gave him a grumpy pout. He couldn't help but feel his heart melt a little. "You're too cute, you know that (Name)?" he leaned in and gave a quick peck on her forehead. "What about kisses on the lips?" he eagerly asks.

"Only when we're alone." (Name) said in a more assertive tone. His eyes lit up as he swoops in for a kiss, only for (Name) to dodge with a bored look on her face. "I don't feel like one right now. You've teased me a lot."

"(Name)-chaaaaaaaaaan!" Satori whines.

"You've teased me a lot!" (Name) pouts and whines back.

"You're fun to tease! Cute too!" a rare gentle smile graces his face as he gazes at a pouty (Name). She really did mean a lot to him. "So is this a promise?" (Name) nods.

"I promise." 


	12. Manager Strategies

Chatter filled the air as Taichi and (Name) walked towards the gym. (Name) had forgotten her pencil case during practice and she needed to retrieve it.

"You're usually not this forgetful (Name), something on your mind?" Taichi prods. (Name) shrugs.

"Not really. My mind has been a lot clearer since I made the rules with Satori, but not much else has been distracting me. I just happened to make a mistake I guess." Taichi shrugged as he opened the gym door

"Well, we better hurry up. (S/Name)-senpai is probably looking for us in the dining hall. I don't want to be scolded for skipping meals you... know...?" Taichi trails off as he sees the gym still set up. Bottles were lined up against the net as Shirabu attempted to accurately set to each one. His most recent attempt missed and he clicked his tongue before turning his attention to (Name) and Taichi.

"What are you two doing here?" wasn't as much of a question as much as a curious statement. (Name) furrowed her brow.

"We could ask you the same thing you know!" Taichi sasses back. "(Name) forgot her pencil case. We're picking it up really quick before heading to dinner."

"Have you eaten dinner yet? (S/Name)-senpai won't be happy if you skip a meal." (Name) chimes in. Shirabu takes out another volleyball from the cart.

"... I'll eat later." He responds as he tosses the ball up to himself. (Name) pouted.

Wrong answer.

(Name) marches over to Shirabu. He notices the girl but doesn't do much to move. Her pout didn't scare him. Taichi observed carefully as he watched the smaller manager huff her way over and quickly and swiftly kick the stubborn Setter in the shin. He shivered and his face warped as the pain registered. He lifted his leg up so that he could grab his shin and try to soothe the pain. As he did so, (Name) went over to the bottles and punted them one by one. Shirabu watched in shock and pain as (Name) threw her hissy fit. Taichi was awestruck.

When done, (Name) looked over at Shirabu with her pouty expression and huffed.

"You're eating now!" She crossed her arms "You're not a superhero you know! We just had an extensive practice! If you want to do extra practice, let's do it after dinner." Shirabu looked confused now

"Let's? As in us?" (Name) finally drops her pout.

"Yes? I'm your manager. I have to keep an eye on you. Even if I'm annoying!" She stomped her foot and huffed again. Taichi smiled. He was glad that (Name) was growing into her position. He was happy that Shirabu didn't scare her like he used to. He was happy that she could be stubborn like this. He was worried at the beginning of the year that being the assistant manager would be a bad matchup for her, but she seemed to do well.

"Alright! Fine! I'm coming! Jeez!" Shirabu stomps his foot down. (Name) smiles at her childish victory. Shirabu walks over to the entrance of the gym and begins to change out of his volleyball shoes, and Taichi takes his chance to lean over and mutter something to Shirabu

"Fear the pout." Shirabu quickly whipped his head towards his roommate and gave him a glare. Taichi only replied with a snide smile.

As they began walking to the cafeteria, Shirabu let out a sigh.

"Thank you... (L/Name)-san..." The meek girl looked at Shirabu with a surprised face as he expressed his gratitude. It was a quiet thanks, but still a thanks. She blinked a few times but soon smiled.

"No problem, I'm just trying to look out for you all." (Name) then looks forward "And call me (Name), we're gonna be seeing a lot of each other these coming years." Her voice became shy as she looked away and scratched the back of her head. Taichi sighed. Of course (Name) couldn't be brave forever. She tried to be like (S/Name), but her personality was completely different.

(Name) suddenly froze as her face held a blank expression.

"Eh? (Name), what's up?" Taichi asked with a bit of concern. (Name) stood there for a moment before sprinting back to the gym. "... She forgot her pencil case... again." Taichi let out a small chuckle as Shirabu looked at him with a wry smile.

Shirabu quickly learned of (Name)'s stubbornness. He understood her, however. She wasn't like (S/Name)-senpai when he first came to the school. He now held (S/Name) in high regard and was more likely to reach out to the older, motherly manager but he often found himself in contact with the smaller of the managers along with Taichi.

Shirabu walked into the library and searched for (Name). The large building was quiet and bare due to it being the weekend, but some students sat sporadically in the room. He found both (Name) and Taichi sitting at a table in a more secluded spot from the other students.

"(Name)-san. Do you have those English notes I asked for?" He asked as she flipped through her magazine. She did her best to keep up with strategies and techniques and had borrowed the magazine from Ushijima.

"Oh, yeah, they're in my bag." She squeaked back and moved to unzip her pack. He quickly replied by shooting his eyebrows upwards. Taichi notices and raises an eyebrow back, prompting him to express his thoughts.

"You're deceptive sometimes. You have a quiet exterior, but you're painfully annoying and childish sometimes." Shirabu expresses. (Name) flinches at his cold remark. Taichi sneers.

"She's actually not that deceptive. You just happen to be enough of an ass sometimes to trigger her to be stubborn and grumpy." Taichi imbued enough courage into (Name) to continue the sass train on Shirabu,

"Yup, and I don't give people who make me grumpy notes." She zipped up her bag once again and went back to reading the magazine. Her face was flushed, but she kept a cool expression. Taichi's smile widened. He was very proud of her for pulling off such a power move. Shirabu threw his head back and groaned. He looked at (name) and Taichi as they sat in the library chairs with a tired look before giving up and taking a seat himself.

"Wise move," Taichi replies as he continues to work on his history with (Name)'s notes beside him. Shirabu huffed before forming a slight pout himself. He remembered what (S/Name) wanted and decided to make another attempt at befriending (Name). (Name) wasn't as easy to befriend as (S/Name) was. (S/Name) respected Shirabu's boundaries and insecurities. He felt like he could actually open up to her and let himself be vulnerable. She was comforting and soft, but tough when she needed to be. (Name) was entirely different. She could be a pushover at times, but if gotten in the right mood she'll refuse to budge and be petty. She requires a lot more space than the touchy (S/Name). (Name) was see-through, while (S/Name) could be mysterious. (Name) was analytical over (S/Name)'s instinctual nature. It was incredible how the team could get two starkly different managers.

'(Name)'s also very immature at times. No wonder Tendou likes her so much...' He looked down at the magazine in (Name)'s hands. She wasn't as knowledgeable as (S/Name), but she still gave her all to catch up and be helpful.

"You could apologize you know," Taichi mutters as he writes down another answer. Shirabu let out a sigh as he focuses on the smaller manager.

"Sorry." He says plainly

"Okay." (Name) replies.

'Petty little shit.' Taichi snorts at his sister's antics. Clearly, Shirabu had to try harder. Shirabu glared at the girl as she continued to look through her magazine. She could feel his glare and it was slightly unsettling, but she needed to stand her ground and be stubborn.

"Try again," Taichi says casually as he picked up a highlighter and began marking important points. He didn't once lift his gaze to Shirabu and neither did (Name). The Setter became frustrated. All he wanted was the notes. How does Tendou deal with this?! He took a deep breath as he looked at the magazine (Name) was skimming.

"You'd probably learn more from watching old volleyball games. The club room has a few DVDs that you could probably borrow." Shirabu suggests. This catches (Name)'s attention as she looks up at him. She blinks several times.

"I can just borrow those?" She questions the new information.

"(S/Name)-senpai can probably get them for you." Watching older games would help increase her knowledge sevenfold. She could rewind and replay any parts that she wanted to analyze more. "Her, or your boyfriend." He jabbed a little. (Name) flinched and became flustered. Taichi glared at Shirabu and his triumphant smile.

"A-ah! Satori's not- I mean, He kinda is, but!" She became more flustered but quickly noticed his grin. She gave a quick pout before swiftly kicking him in the shin under the table. He winces and grabs his leg. "D-Don't tease me like thaaaaat!" (Name) whines as she pouts. He shoots a glare back. Taichi watched as his roommate and sister clashed.

"Jesus, your kicks are worse than they would seem." He rubs the point of impact to soothe it before placing his leg back down. "Why haven't you just asked him out already? Dating him is inevitable, isn't it?" He asked with genuine curiosity this time. Taichi was about to interrupt because he thought Shirabu was getting a little deep into (Name)'s personal boundaries. This is territory that she would usually reserve for those close to her or those she considered apart of her family.

"Because it's more complicated than that!" she whines. "I want to try and make it seem more natural! Like if we didn't make the promise!" Shirabu and Taichi stare blankly at the girl. Taichi was amazed that she was so open with Shirabu. As he thought carefully about the situation, he suddenly realized that Shirabu wasn't being hostile towards (Name) in the way he was being hostile towards (S/Name), and (Name) wasn't actually being rude to Shirabu in a malicious way either. It was a bicker based relationship

Like siblings.

"But you did make the promise. You've kissed him." Shirabu points out. (Name)'s face became redder as she swung her foot at Shirabu. He quickly moved his shin out of the way.

"Like I said, it's complicated."

"You're making it complicated. Overly dramatic too."

"I don't think there's anything dramatic about boundaries. I'm just not ready yet." With that, Shirabu stopped his bickering. He got the answer he was looking for.

"'Not ready' doesn't sound complicated. Sounds like a reasonable answer to the question I asked." he replied. Taichi realized right then and there that Shirabu had unwittingly accepted the role that Itsuki selfishly abandoned. He was becoming a brother figure in (Name)'s life and one that she desperately needed. (Name) had unconsciously given him the chance to prove himself and he did.

Taichi watched (Name)'s face warp as she processed Shirabu's words. She blinks and looks down at her hands. She somehow felt more comfortable with her relationship with Satori now that someone had validated her feelings, even more so that it came from someone as blunt as Shirabu. She shifted her jaw as she stared at the volleyball ad in her magazine.

She closed the pages of her magazine and shifted to reach for her bag. She opened up the pocket containing her English notes and handed them to Shirabu. He stared at them for a few seconds before accepting them. He had almost forgotten about the notes entirely after the light banter with (Name). He was about to put them away in his bag when he glanced at both (Name) and Taichi. He paused and thought for a few seconds before taking a deep breath through his nose and placed the notes back on the table. He then opened his bag and brought out a pencil case and his homework before beginning on the problems before him. Taichi's eyebrows raised upwards as he witnessed the much more mellow mood of Shirabu before giving a subtle smile. He'll make a great brother for (Name).


	13. No Loopholes

_"(Name) nice serve!" a teammate called out to her for encouragement. The small girl took a deep breath before throwing up the ball just like (S/Name) had taught her. She took a running approach at the rising ball before jumping at it just as it began to fall. Her hand steadily made contact and the blue and yellow orb floated over the net. Pride and joy radiated from the ace of the Shiratorizawa middle school girls' volleyball team._

_Just like she taught her._

_A bright smile had spread across (Name)'s face as she got into place to prepare for a possible counter-attack. She had done it. Her first jump float in a real match was a success. She could barely contain herself as she witnessed the enemy team break formation to try and return her serve. A black-haired setter with ominous gray eyes watched the ball carefully as her teammates were forced to take the first and second hit on the ball. She took a quick glance over at the instigator of her team's current struggle, and a small smirk sprawled across her face. The ball was hit towards the net as another girl called out to her._

_"Shirogane! Get the last one!" Perfect opportunity._

_Shirogane quickly ran up to the flying ball and sprung into the air as she reeled back. She suppressed her toothy grin as she took aim at the delicate pinch server and let loose a merciless spike. (S/Name) was quick to realize Shirogane's trajectory, and hurried to block. Her hands didn't make it in time as the ball sped over the net, and dug its way into (Name)'s face. (S/Name) looked on in horror as (Name) stumbled backward and coddled her eye. Tears were forming in the small girl's eyes as she watched the ball fly away from her. The usually relaxed Setter sprinted after the rogue ball and successfully connected with an underhand toss and sent it to her ace._

_"All on you, Ace!" her soothing voice was slightly panicked. She had faith in (S/Name), but she was very concerned for (Name). A spike from Shirogane was no joke. The rival Setter's attack power was on par with some of the most powerful girls in the Miyagi league and was often referred to as the all in one Setter. That spike, if placed right, was undoubtedly incredibly painful._

_And it all too conveniently hit the youngest and most fragile girl on the team. The cool-headed Setter sneered as she watched a much more flustered and emotionally charged (S/Name) come down with a spike at full force. Her movements were predictable, and a libero quickly picked up the forceful attack. (Name) sniffled as she attempted to keep focus, but she was terrified. She knew very well that the overhand attack she had just suffered from was far from an accident. Shirogane was much too skilled to make a mistake like that, especially while that calm. Her emotional state worsened as she noticed the volley continue._

_"Shit!" The Shiratorizawa Setter was quickly becoming more and more panicked. If the rest of Shirogane's team caught onto their Setter's plan, then (Name) would be targeted again. Shirogane led a ruthless pack. (S/Name) knew this too, and her priorities were divided. (S/Name) was increasingly becoming more distressed by little pinch server (Name)'s status. The Ace would constantly be glancing back at the girl in serving position while the ball was still in play. 'Shirogane, you absolute bitch.' The soothing Setter thought to herself as Shirogane happily set to her Ace to attack. (S/Name) was becoming increasingly hyper-aware of (Name)'s position on the court, and subconsciously shifted her block to protect her junior. A cross easily whipped past her hands once more and ricocheted off of one of (Name)'s stiff shoulders before flying off the court. Tears formed in (Name)'s eyes as the whistle called for a point to be given to the rival team. She was but a mere rabbit to the Hyena that was Shirogane. She was useless in the fight against that massive beast._

_The rival ace began to giggle as she came back to the ground. The rest of her team followed suit and created a cackle of hyena taunts._

_As (Name) made her way off the court towards the reserve box, a coach quickly noticed the darkening tissue around (Name)'s eye. She called the girl over as anxious eyes watch her from the stands._

_"That was on purpose for damn sure." An aggravated, tired voice snarled as Taichi glared at the foe Setter. Itsuki gripped the edge of his seat._

_"That number 5 deserves whatever bad thing that happens to her." He spat through clenched teeth. The boys both watch as (Name) was led out by a first-year libero. Both boys shot up as they rushed out of the stands to accompany the injured girl._

Memories of the first time (Name) had ever encountered Shirogane came rushing back to her as she witnessed the once cackling and proud Setter beg like a dog for a chance to speak with (Name)'s senior alone. (Name)'s grip on Taichi tightened slightly as she watched the now Aoba Johsai Setter. Taichi was very displeased with the presence of the aggressive girl. Pools of purple that once sat on (S/C) skin filled his mind as the teal-clad girl continued to pester (S/Name). His seniors whispered and muttered to (S/Name). He honestly didn't think Shirogane was worth (S/Name)'s time at all, not after what she did to (Name).

For most of (Name)'s volleyball career, she was a pinch serve. She wouldn't even be on the bench if (S/Name) hadn't taught her how to serve, and (Name) highly appreciated what her senior did for her. Taichi still remembered her pure joy when she held up that jersey to him. Her number was nearing 20, but she was overjoyed nonetheless. It was that same day that he got to meet his now beloved senior and serve tutor of (Name). Whenever the little rabbit was on the court with the Golden eagle, she felt nothing but pride.

Unless Shirogane was the opponent. Shirogane would take that feeling of pride and love into her jaws and swallow it down whole. She would replace it with fear and anxiety as (Name) would wait for the skillful all in one Setter to aim and attack directly at her. Sometimes she received it well and kept the rally going, but a bruise would always be found later. Other times she would receive poorly and end up with a bloody nose, immediately switching her out before she could continue with her serve streak. The Golden girl and star athlete of the team would become very conscious of her junior whenever she stepped onto the court. Shirogane knew this. It's the exact reason she targeted (Name). She used the weakest member of the chain to get to the powerful ace. (S/Name) would then become distracted and her spikes less effective, and (Name) knew it. She hated playing against Shirogane.

She was so easily used as a tool for Shirogane's gains, and there was nothing she could do. What good is a rabbit against a salivating, starving Hyena?

After reaching a quick agreement that Shirabu needed to follow (S/name) as the senior abided by Shirogane's request, (Name) finally felt like she could loosen her grip on Taichi's sleeve. The first-year middle blocker noticed (Name) becoming more relaxed and began to soothe himself.

"Everything okay (Name)-chan?" Satori leaned his face in close to the younger manager. She squeaked as Taichi quickly pushed Satori's face away.

"He always gets more rambunctious when (S/Name) isn't around..." Leon sighs as Semi grabbed his roommate.

"No! No, he's okay!" (Name) quickly assured as she waved her hands. "He was just concerned." 'Got a little too excited, but it was out of concern' Taichi examines his sister before backing off. Semi glances at Satori and releases him. Satori turns his head and sticks his tongue out in a childish manner before rushing to (Name)'s side again. His hand was surprisingly gentle against hers as he leaned in to whisper to the timid rabbit.

"You seem a little off." she was caught off guard by his words. His sensitivity to her moods was astonishing. She knew Taichi had that exact same sensitivity, but it was exciting to see Satori develop it. It wasn't that he was dense, it's just that he got a little too excited sometimes and lost sight of her queues.

"I promise, I'm okay." he smiled after hearing those two words. She would never make an empty promise, especially not with him. "I'll explain later. Shirogane just brings back some bad memories." Taichi took a quick glance at (Name). He knew the exact memories she was talking about. He had them too. His memories were full of anger and nurse visits. He hated the way Shirogane took advantage of (Name)'s inexperience during those games.

Satori quickly placed a kiss on (Name)'s cheek before giving her space. Semi jokingly stuck out his tongue at the quick display of affection, and Satori gladly stuck his tongue out back. Taichi sighed along with (Name) as the roommates began to bicker. Soekawa did his best to quell the playful banter, but a chorus of phones buzzing and chirping interrupted the boys. (Name) unlocked her phone to see a message from Shirabu in the group chat.

**Get Waka a date group chat**

**3:12 pm grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** (Name)'s fine. Shirogane or whatever tried to convince (L/Name)-senpai to come back to volleyball and leave us. Really pushing her to go through with the surgery.

**(grumpy fledgling Shirabu changed their name to Shirabu)**

**Shirabu:** And like hell my name's gonna be that in here.

(Name) observed a smile from the object of her affections as he tapped away on his phone. She could only imagine what he was doing. She shook her head slightly as she typed herself.

 **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (k/name):** uh huh... that makes sense for Shirogane. She's got a lot of pride, probably still wants to beat (Name) herself

 **Telephone boy Soekawa:** is (S/name) on her way bck?

 **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** I think she's thinking things through right now

**(grumpy fledgling Shirabu changed their name to Shirabu)**

**Shirabu:** I said NO.

Satori snickered as he began typing again. He seemed to get a kick out of messing with the first year Setter. He had total control of the names in the group chats, and he certainly abused that power.

 **Not Benkei Leon:** Should we send Wakatoshi?

 **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** I think that might be suspicious, plus she said not to follow.

**(grumpy fledgling Shirabu changed their name to Shirabu)**

**Shirabu:** STOP DOING THAT!

Ohira shot Satori a look, but Semi shook his head. The second-year seemed to also get a kick out of the pissed off first-year. He was chuckling as he typed his next response. Ohira furrowed his brow at Semi. Poor Shirabu.

 **Other momma bird Eita:** you've got a point. so what's the plan for now?

 **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** I recommend just waiting for her to come back.

**(grumpy fledgling Shirabu changed their name to Shirabu)**

**Shirabu:** WHO KEEPS DOING THAT?!

A hissed laugh made its way through Satori's teeth. Taichi raised an eyebrow at him as he quickly moved his fingers to respond.

 **Big bro Taichi:** I have a guess...

 **Guess who:** hm? watcha trying to imply tai? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The text ended after that. Semi and Satori's bickering had firmly ended as they snickered at one another. (Name) smiled at the childish boy. She felt her heart flutter slightly as he grinned widely at his antics. Ohira was scolding him slightly as he and Semi began to ensure that Shirabu's group chat name would stay grumpy fledgling. She was about to reach out for Satori's open hand, but her phone buzzed. She fished it out of her pocket and noticed that none of the second years had the same notification. She looked over at Taichi, who was also checking his phone. At first, she worried that it was Itsuki, but Taichi's face seemed to stay relaxed as he opened his lock screen. (Name) decided to do the same as she swiped her phone's screen. She widened her eyes when she saw the title of the new group chat

**First years only *TOP SECRET***

**3:46 pm grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** (Name), I need you to make me a promise.

 **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** Oh my god I give up.

(Name) smiles when she sees that word. With Satori, that word was one of endearment and love. It was a word that they used to comfort one another and affirm their love.

With others, it was a means of manipulation.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** sure, we can make a promise!

Taichi looked up at his smiling little sister. What was his roommate thinking? He had warned him, and he sure as hell knew Shirabu wasn't an idiot.

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** Uh... dude, remember what I told you? Might not be a good idea...

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** I know what I'm doing.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** So what's the promise? (V●ᴥ●V)

(Name) smiled as she waited for a response. Taichi took the chance to glance up at his tricky little sister. He took a second to process the situation

'If the promise is with (Name), then why do I need to be in this group chat? Why isn't Shirabu heading back yet? And why does this need to be a secret? Something big is coming. Shirabu's about to drop something on us that neither of us are going to be too happy about...'

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** The information I am about to tell you is NOT to get to the second years in any way shape or form. You are to promise me that you will NOT tell them by texting, writing, word of mouth, or through another person. Any form of communication of this information to the second years violates the promise. You are to keep Kawanishi from telling them through all those methods as well. None of the second years are to look over your shoulder while you or Kawanishi texts EITHER. You are to guard it with your life. This promise applies to EVERYTHING IN THIS GROUP CHAT. Are we clear?

Taichi watched as (Name)'s face morphed to one of displeasure and a pout. Her power had been taken from her. She was slightly impressed with Shirabu's thought out promise.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** ... you really aren't leaving me a lot of holes here, are you?

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** absolutely not. Are you promising me? Making this promise is the only way you're getting this info.

(Name) pouted at Taichi. He shrugged as he moved closer to her. He patted her shoulder slightly. He was telling her to proceed with caution, but it was entirely her own choice. She shifted her jaw. She wanted the information badly.

"You have my consent to make this promise. I'm not going to try and make things difficult for you. I know you want to know." (Name) nodded as she began to type. "He's better than I thought... damn" Taichi chuckled slightly.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** ... I don't have much else of a choice. You've managed to make this airtight... must be important.

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** it is.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** Okay, I promise. I'll keep Taichi from spilling too.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** making promises with you is no fun ʕ – (oo) – ʔ

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** omfg... con-fucking-grats.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** so what's the intell?

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** I told (S/Name) everything. She knows Ushijima-senpai's in love with her. I approached her after Shirogane was done talking to her.

(Name) and Taichi's eyes were wide as they read the message. (Name) had to stifle a choke as she processes what Shirabu had just sent. Her typing was quick and sloppy as Taichi pulled out his phone again to send a response.

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** YYOU TOLD HER?!

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** (Name)'s probably got a kick to the shins waiting for you dude.

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** (S/Name)'s with me. Neither of you can't lay a finger on me.

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** senpai snitch protection program... damn

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** ugh... is there anything else we need to know?

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** Shirogane did say she wanted to compete with (Name) again, but that wasn't why she approached her. Shirogane informed (S/Name) of a plan a rival setter, Oikawa, was going to execute.

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** Oikawa is planning on confessing to (S/Name) himself in front of Ushijima in an attempt to throw them both off emotionally to try and get an upper hand. Oikawa is Shirogane's brother-in-law apparently, and she's worried for him, which is why she told (S/Name). Shirogane wants (S/Name) to confess to Ushijima-senpai. Shirogane believes that if (S/Name) and Ushijima-senpai become an item, she can snap her brother out of whatever stupor he's gotten himself into.

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** (S/Name) plans on confessing within the next 7 days. She wants our help.

Taichi took a deep breath as he began typing. This was exhausting.

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** k, why us? Wouldn't the second-years be better?

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** She has her reasons. For now, you both are on this team with me. She plans on confessing after the tournament is over, but before nationals. We need to watch out for Oikawa

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** uhuh, taht's probably why she wanted us, the second years are aggressively protective of (S/Name)-senpai

 **** **grumpy fledgling Shirabu:** probably. We are to wait for further instruction from (S/Name), but does everyone understand so far?

 **** **Big bro Taichi:** uuuughhh why did you have to drag me into this?

 **** **━☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟMagical girl (name):** eyaaaa, I got it. You're no fun to make promises with Shirabuuuuuu

(Name) locked her phone again and shoved it into her pocket with a slight pout on her face. Satori noticed and hugged her tightly.

"That was a lot of texting just now, what's up?" (Name) panicked slightly. She was promise-bound. She physically can't tell him, even if it was Satori. She held her phone against her chest as she sweats slightly

"Um..."

"This is a private matter, Tendou-senpai," Taichi says with ease. Satori's cheerfulness seemed to drain slightly, but his face kept the same expression. (Name) had the right to keep things from him, but it didn't prevent him from worrying about it. He didn't show it in the slightest, but his anxiety began to build. Had he done something wrong? He knew cornering her about this small secret was wrong, but he desperately wanted to.

"Ah, Shirabu, you're back." Semi greeted the flat-faced Setter. (Name) and Taichi began to stare at him, but he showed no signs of further instructions. The boy simply nods at the other setter before beginning to look around for Oikawa. He wasn't physically strong like Ohira or Ushijima, but he could snitch. He could tell (S/Name) his exact location and tell her how to avoid him.

"Is (S/Name) coming back soon?" Ohira asked the distracted Setter. As they began chatting, Satori suddenly became very clingy. He grabbed at (Name)'s hand and quickly interlaced his fingers between hers. (Name) noticed quickly as he squeezed her hand and leaned into her. His face looked happy and cheery as he listened to the conversation, but something seemed off. Taichi also noticed. It was almost as if Satori was becoming more possessive. He wondered if it was because of (Name)'s need to keep a secret. Did anxiety from the secret turn into possessiveness? Did he feel like he could possibly lose her?

If he was becoming possessive, then helping their senior might turn into a bigger challenge than he thought. Taichi sneered slightly. The thought of having to soothe Satori wasn't his favorite, but he was promise-bound.

'Only for you, (Name). Only for you.'

Soekawa seemed to perk up as he felt a set of eyes on him. He turned with a wide smile   
"Ah! Speak of the dehhhh....." (Name) and Taichi brought their attention away from a clingy Satori to see their beloved senior and playmaker,

Holding a child.

"Hey," She said in a casual tone as the brunette little girl clung close to (S/Name). The group grimaces at (S/Name)'s casual demeanor.

"... (S/Name), why do you have a child?" Ohira's questioning seemed to scare the small child. (Name) shifted uncomfortably as she stared at the upset kid. The longer she was in close proximity to the tiny human, the more anxious she became.

"Shh, shh, it's okay Kiki, you're okay, they're friends" (S/Name) soothed and stroked the child's back. "She was lost and approached me. I couldn't just leave her."

"... (S/Name), the game's been pushed back, but what if we still had to play in 15 minutes?" Semi argued, but (S/Name) shrugged and gestured slightly to (Name).

"You have (Name), she'd be fine." Satori gripped (Name)'s hand slightly and smiled. He glanced down at the cuter of the managers. He liked the idea, and he fantasized slightly about the idea of having her so close when he played, but it all crumbled away when he saw Ushijima's displeased face. He knew he would take priority. He glanced back over at (Name) and sighed. He understood why he would take priority over him and (Name). In the eyes of the team, Satori and (Name) were dating. They were an item. Reality wasn't that sweet, however. Sure, they had shared a kiss and had shown affection, they had expressed a fondness for one another, but it wasn't official, and they both knew it. He began to zone out slightly as the conversation went on. His normal stare held true as he began to stress himself out for no other reason than the possibility that (Name) was losing interest in him. The idea was irrational, but the further he ran with the idea, the deeper he dove into a pool of panic.

All of this, over one secret text conversation.

What was she talking about?

Who was she talking to?

Why did Taichi know about it but not him?

Did she not trust him?

Did she finally have enough of him?

Was he too much?

"Satori, Leon, and Shirabu should stay here." all three boys flinch. Semi's words had cut him out of his panicked question. He didn't know if his roommate did it on purpose or if he was just focused on the conversation at hand, but he was thankful for Semi's words snapping him out of his dark headspace. "Unfortunately, whether it be the size of your bodies or just the pure energy you put out, you might scare Kiki further." Satori grimaced. Ah. so that's what he was talking about. Maybe it wasn't for his well being.

"Wakatoshi might also be scary then," (S/Name) pointed out. Satori was about to zone out again, but the hand that he had intertwined with (Name)'s was suddenly pulled closer to her side. She didn't know how to comfort him, but she felt his uneasiness. He hid it well, but she recognized that mask he used. She had the same one that she used just in case of emergencies. Her neck moved stiftly and she shivered slightly, but her head eventually ended up on Satori's shoulder for a few seconds. Her heart raced as she began to worry about others staring at her public display of affection. Satori gave (Name) a surprised look as he watched her squirm uncomfortably before she finally becomes overwhelmed and shoots her head off his shoulder. She took a deep breath before blushing and looking to the side. Her brave display of affection shocked Satori, but a smile quickly replaced his surprised look as he refocused again. He was completely lost, but that small bit of affection was enough for now.

(Name) on the other hand, had been listening the entire time. She had dealt with one of her anxieties, and now she had to make sure she didn't get sucked into a task that would only cause her even more anxiety.

"Ah, I have a confession." (Name) bows her head slightly. "I probably shouldn't come with you (S/Name)-senpai... I'm terrible with kids. I have no idea what to do with them." Shirabu quickly whips his head to his first-year accomplice. (Name) could feel his glare and judgment.

"You literally date the man-child of the team." He gestures to Satori "How are you not good with children?! You have experience!" Satori flinched and gawked at the bluntness of Shirabu's statement. Taichi snickered and gave a snide smile to Satori.

"That's differeeeeeeent! And we've been over this! We-we're technically not dating yet!" (Name) whined. Those words spear Satori slightly. She was right. They weren't dating.

"Oh my god, (NAME)!" Shirabu argues with her. Satori perks up. At least Shirabu was on his side... maybe?

"Shirabuuu!" (Name) bickers back. Taichi sighs as he goes to calm (Name) slightly. Shirabu had a talent for getting her to have outbursts.

"(Name), Shirabu, cut it out." Taichi didn't put much effort forth in stopping their bickering, He knew there wasn't any real harm happening as the intellectuals fought. They nitpicked little things and things that didn't matter. (Name) would sass him and he would dish it right back at her. If anything, He provoked her to let her personality shine through.

And Satori noticed. She was still shy around him, but Shirabu brought out a piece of her that he only saw in private. He took a deep breath before taking his hand and smacking Ushijima's back hard to snap the ace out of an infatuation daze. The loud smack interrupted the first year's bickering. They look over and grimace slightly at their obvious senior and make an exasperated sigh at how Ushijima managed to pull that shit for a whole year without (Name) noticing.

"So is anyone else going to join the two of them?" Taichi lazily asked. "The fewer people they have with them, the easier they can make it through a crowd." His reasoning was solid, and (S/name) nodded.

"I think we should be enough." (S/Name)'s assertive tone was enough to convince everyone. She looked to her first years and mouthed the words 'Group chat' before leaving with Ushijima to find Kiki's sister. (Name) sighed as she looked at her brother and then down at her phone. She had a bad feeling, but it wasn't about (S/Name).


	14. Reconcile

(S/Name) ended up being fine, but Satori continued to act strangely. He seemed normal, but something was off. To the other second years, he was his bouncy self, but (Name) couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something.

"Hey hey! (Name)-chan! Are you going to go fill water bottles?" Satori asked his beloved tiny manager as she lifted the large back up over her shoulder.

"Um, yeah, did you need something in particular?" (Name) questions as she grips the bag strap. Satori shook his head as he placed a hand on her lower back.

"No, thought I'd come with! Just in case they were too heavy!" Satori reassures her. (Name) tilts her head, but she sees no harm in him accompanying her. (S/Name) had shot him a glare, but Satori assured the upperclassman that he would be back in enough time to prepare and stretch.

"... alright. But if you take too long, I'm hunting you both down, got it?" (Name) shivered at (S/Name)'s words as Satori sweat.

"Ah... got it, (S/name)..." Satori held up a shaky 'okay' sign and walked out with (Name). She was glad he was accompanying her, after all of the stories and wild tales of (S/Name)'s trips to the water fountains, she had developed anxiety for them.

As they arrive at the silvery fountains, Satori began his subtle interrogation. He needed to know things. He wanted her to be open with him, and her secrecy on this one little thing killed him. Had it just been her and Taichi, it might have been fine, but Shirabu was in on it too. Shirabu worried him at times. (Name) had gotten close to him very quickly, and Shirabu seemed very comfortable around the girl he considered his. He was Taichi's roommate, and the three of them would often study together.

"So you and Shirabu seem to get along well now," Satori began as (Name) opened up one of the water bottles. She had a feeling she knew where this was going. She tried to think of a way to prevent conflict.

"I guess? He's a teammate, right? (S/Name)-senpai would be upset if I didn't get along with him" (Name) asked innocently. Satori hummed and slid his hands past her hips and hugged her. (Name)'s face bursts into flames as he leans some of his weight into her back.

"I guess." He spun her words right back at her as he breathed into her hair. He placed a subtle kiss on the side of her head before continuing "You still want to date me, right?" (Name)'s nervousness melted away. She dropped the water bottle she had in her hand as its contents burst from the mouth of the yellow plastic. Satori flinched as the water bottle expelled liquid, but (Name) remained unmoved. He stared at the back of her head as she stayed silent. His anxiety rose, but it was different this time. (Name) had stopped talking. "(N-Name)?" He sputtered.

"Let go." Her shy voice demanded.

"Eh?"

"I said, Let. Go." Her voice was firmer this time. She turned her body so that she now faced the seldom anxious boy. "You're doubting my feelings for you." He didn't expect this to be (Name)'s reaction. "And you're becoming jealous of someone who I could never care for the way I care for you." She began to pout. "You're being irrational!" Satori, however, didn't take this lying down. He pouted back

"If it's nothing then you can tell me the secret you're keeping!"

"Satoriiiiiii!" (Name) whined as she intensified her pout. "I can't! I made a promise!"

"You can tell me though! Come on (Name)! Just this one! Okay?! You're being childish!" His voice rose slightly as the couple continued to argue. (Name)'s cute face scrunched with frustration. She was beginning to fume.

"If I break this promise, then what meaning do our promises have!? Can I just break them at will or at times that I find convenient? Or will you do that? Do you find our promises trivial and meaningless? Do they bother you?" (Name) used all her strength to gently push Satori off her. He stared at her wide-eyed as he suffered her tongue lashing. (Name) huffed again as she grabbed the dropped water bottle and bag before storming off.

"Eh? (Name)-chan? Where are you going?" the rabbit didn't answer the hawk. She was much too peeved about Satori's behavior.

'He's being childish!' she thinks to herself as she continues her own hissy fit. Her strides were long and heavy as she rushes off to find another water fountain.

"(Name)! Wait! Where are you going?!" Satori called out for her again, but she turned her face to him and pouted. He now understood that (Name) wasn't going to speak with him at this time. This had been his first ever time doing it, but he had released her grumpy mode. He decided to not pursue her and watch her turn the corner to another water fountain. He felt a mixture of displeasure and relief when he saw that cute pout of hers. On one hand, she was mad at him, and probably wasn't going to talk to him for a while unless he figured out a way to make her ungrumpy. On the other hand, she had gotten mad at him because she was worried that if she didn't keep one promise, then all the ones they made with each other were for nothing. She valued those promises that much. His eyes soften as some of his anxiety faded. She had probably been trying to think of loopholes for a while now, but if those promises were with Shirabu, he could see how she could be backed into a corner. He could have fallen over at that moment out of relief. He casually looked up to a clock and nearly had a heart attack. (S/Name) was about to kill him if he didn't get back soon. He rushed off in an attempt to avoid a beating from the head manager.

(Name) came back with the water bottles and a pout. She talked freely with Taichi, Shirabu, and (S/Name), but the rest of the team had a tiny bit of trouble. She wouldn't converse with them, but she was cooperative, despite her unpleasantness.

Satori was an entirely different story. He got absolutely nothing. She wouldn't even look at him. When he requested refreshments from her, she would hand it off to another teammate to give to him. The only time she looked at him was when he was playing. She kept her promise and kept her eyes on him when he played. She didn't cheer or react, but she watched carefully with a pouty glare.

She decided to let her brain process the game on one end as she began to focus on forming a plan on another.

'(S/Name)-senpai only has 7 days, but ideally, we want this confession to be done in 3. Nice receive. The 3 days that we have are based around the fact that our games are going to be over the course of the next 3 days, Taichi nice kill, and I would like them to settle into their new status as a couple before nationals. Shirabu, nice serve. We need them alone on the final day after they win finals. What time is (S/Name) usually alone? Water fountains wouldn't work. That would be before the match anyway, and more likely than not Ushijima-senpai would be unavailable to go with her anyways. Ah, I see. He set up a block so that the spiker could only make cross spikes. The other place that could possibly work is in the locker rooms. Usually (S/Name)-senpai does a once over right after we play to see if anything was left behind. She's pretty hasty about it, but we could probably slow her down somehow if we left enough stuff or something heavy enough. I know (S/Name)-senpai has bad knee days, so maybe we can feign one of those and sent Ushijima-senpai to her rescue. Ah! That receive was a little off, but Shirabu got it regardless.' (Name) watched as the last point slammed down on the opposing side of the court by the strong Ushijima. Broken faces watched as the ricochet left the court and flew towards the back of the stadium. 'Looks like today's game is over. I need to get back to the team and help pack up.' (Name) glanced down once more over the court with unintentional intense eyes. Shirabu feels a reading gaze and looks up, only to shiver at (Name)'s stare. Satori and Yamagata noticed their Setter's shiver and look up as well, only to get captured by the young manager's creepy stare. She was reading everything, and she had no regard as to what her face looked like. She blinked twice before leaving the stands and releasing the boys from her stare. Shirabu, Yamagata, and Satori shifted their attention to Taichi for answers about his pseudo-sister.

"Ah, wondering about the stare?"

"Yeah? What the hell was that?!" Shirabu gestured "Was that like a symptom of her poutiness or something?!" Taichi snorted as he began his cooldown.

"No, more likely than not her brain was doing more than one thing at a time again. Her brain can multitask, but at the price is that she completely and totally loses any regard to what she looks like or what's around her. It can be useful, but it stresses her out too." He then mutters something about how much of a bitch it is to play video games with her when she gets like that. Satori sighs as he sees the beloved Rabbit come into the gym to assist the head manager. She sure was interesting.

The after match meeting went by quickly, and the team dispersed even quicker after that. Taichi had just gotten a large bag of chips in a care package, and he gladly shared with (Name) as they sat in the middle of his dorm's common area. (Name) happily munched away as Shirabu waited for his coffee to brew. Taichi was carefully watching the amount she ate to try and prevent her from stress eating.

"So did you come up with anything?" Shirabu turned his head slightly and side-eyed (Name). His head was propped up against the counter as he watched his coffee maker closely.

"Umm... maybe..." (Name) replies before stuffing another handful of chips in her mouth.

"You were making the face," Taichi comments as he sticks his hand in the chip bag and fishes out a sizeable chip. (Name)'s eyes widened as she heard Taichi's comment. She knew exactly what face he was referring to. She hated that face. She hated that face that basically made her look like some sort of cryptic on the hunt. Some had described it as creepy, and others had described it as monstrous. Her full cheeks and wide eyes caused both boys to laugh. Taichi was quick to whip out his phone and take a picture of her. The rabbit quickly swallowed her mouthful of chips and quickly began to reach for Taichi's phone.

"Taichiiiiiii!" (Name) whined as the boy as he began tapping his screen as he held his phone high above his head. Shirabu had a tired smile on his face as he watched the scene. Taichi had told him his theory as to why (Name) had been grumpy.

Shirabu had learned all about how Satori had probably gotten jealous and about how the lanky boy was probably going to get more and more possessive with each day of the tournament if (Name) or Taichi didn't do something soon. Shirabu let out a sigh through his nose as he gripped the handle of his mug and pulled it out from under the coffee maker and placed the warm cup against his lips.

This was way more dramatic than it needed to be. Both (Name) and Satori were being childish.

"What's the matter (Name)? I can't have cute pictures of my little sister?" Taichi teased slightly as he continued to tap his phone

"Okay, but who are you sending it to? That's a suspicious amount of typing!" (Name) whined again as Taichi tapped the send button "Taichiiiiii!!" (Name) whines again.

"Your whining is annoying. Quit it." Shirabu says in a flat tone, but (Name) only sticks her tongue out at him. Shirabu gives into her childish game and makes an over exaggerates a sneer at her before taking a sip of coffee.

The next day (Name) continued to give Satori a cold shoulder. It gave him a great deal of displeasure, but Taichi had pulled through for him the night before. He smiled as he recalled the picture he had gotten out of the blue.

_Satori laid in the middle of his dorm common area and pouted slightly at his latest issue of Shonen Jump. He desperately wanted to talk about the most recent chapters with someone, but the one and only person who would actually converse with him about it was his beloved (Name), who was currently ignoring every single vie for attention and interaction. He closed the magazine and placed it in the middle of the floor. He knew Semi would get mad at him for being right in the way of the walkway again, but he didn't care. Maybe if he was bored enough he would cling onto his legs again until Semi promised him his lunch issued dessert. A sadistic smile lined his face as he thought of getting the extra sweet through bribery. He wouldn't have to give it back this time either because he had the 'Get out of jail free' card that (S/Name) made him. He saw Semi enter the room and was about to execute his master plan, but his phone buzzed in his pocket before he could latch onto the Setter's ankles. He quickly lifted the device to his face and began tapping away as Semi begrudgingly stepped over the tall lanky boy._

_"Oh my god, Satori, you know you attend Shiratorizawa, right? Not Date Tech? Quit being a wall-" Before Semi could even finish his sentence, Satori let out a loud guttural noise as he stared at his phone with wide eyes. On his screen was an absolutely adorable picture of (Name) with her cheeks filled to the brim with what he assumed to be the snacky food in her hands. She was living up to her rabbit title._

_"LOOOOOOOOOK. AT. HOW. CUUUUUUUUTE!" Satori screeches as he dramatically shoved his phone into Semi's face._

_Semi wasn't able to change the conversation topic away from Satori's infatuation with the girl for the rest of the night._

Satori let out a dreamy sigh as he began to think of (Name)'s cute face again as the team walks to the gym. This day would be longer than the day before due to the fact that the team had 3 games to play instead of only playing a single game. (S/Name) had taken special care in preparing each lunch to fully suit each players' individual needs and deficiencies. (Name) grimaced slightly at the almost professionally prepared food. She tried to dissect it, but every time she couldn't figure out the science behind it. She needed to set aside a time at some point to watch (S/Name) cook. She figured out volleyball within a few months, how hard could cooking be? The thought of learning how to cook like (S/Name) began to stress her out even more.

Stress had been piling up recently. Everything from (S/Name)'s confession to Satori's jealousy and their fight, not to mention some tests that were coming up. (Name) had tried to soothe herself the night before with Taichi, but it ended up fruitless. (Name) was pretty good at hiding stress, but it did have an effect on how she performed.

"Hey, hey, (Name)-chan, do you want a snack? I can go get you a snack from a vending machine or something." Satori attempts to catch her attention. (Name) didn't notice that he had been sneaking up on her before he was already in her face. She jumped slightly as she sweats and looks to the side. She doesn't say a word as she continues to pout.

"Oh boy. PDA incoming." Semi whispers to a nodding Ohira.

"You know, since (Name)-chan became less tense, it's gotten cuter." The large wing spiker chuckled.

"I know, but I'd rather be (S/Name)'s personal punching bag than admit that to him." Semi turned his attention to the aforementioned manager and began to observe Ushijima's progress once more, only to spot a worry war.

"Heeeeey! (Name)-chaaaaaaan!" Satori persists "I can get you some chips~" He begins to tease "You know, like the ones Taichi gave you~!" (Name)'s eyes widen. A glare and pout were sent to her brother. The ginger quickly turned on his heel to start a conversation with Shirabu.

"So, how's your day going?" He said in a flat tone

"Don't use me as an out from that child."

"(Name)-chaaan~!" Satori pestered again. He was getting too cute, and he actually made her feel better. The more time (Name) spent with Satori, the cuter he got. Her cheeks reddened as she looked for an out.

"(Name), grab the water bottles. We're going to the locker rooms." Her senior suddenly called her. "We'll fill them on our way back."

"Coming!" (Name) sighed. She had gotten salvation.

"Okay, see you in a bit (Name)!" Satori quickly placed a kiss on her cheek "loveyoubye!" He then sprinted off in the direction of the gym they were playing in, grabbing Semi in the process. Semi tripped and fell, and got dragged a few feet before getting back on his feet and running alongside Satori, screaming at him in the process.

"What did he just-" Taichi began to piece together Satori's rushed message, but Shirabu elbowed him.

"I think we have an impromptu meeting right now." He looks at the managers walking away. Taichi looks back and forth between Satori and (S/Name) before giving a sigh of defeat. (Name) will confront him later. Both he and Shirabu turn and begin to walk before Soekawa called after them.

"Where are you two going?"

"Bathroom," They quickly replied before continuing down the hall.

"Satori, what the FUCK!" Semi began as they found an empty hallway. "Why did you drag me along with you!?"

"I know we're helping Wakatoshi right now, but I need like a smidge of that help right now." Satori talked wildly with his hands and demonstrated the smidge he needed by holding his index finger and thumb close to one another. Semi sighed as he raised an eyebrow, prompting his roommate to continue. "(Name)'s mad at me right now, and I don't know how to get her unmad if that makes sense?"

"You mean grumpy time or whatever? Didn't (S/Name) say that it's impossible to get her out of that or something?"   
"Yeah but I've done it before! I think I can do it again!" Semi lets out a guttural sigh

"Why not just wait for her to calm down?" Satori pouted.

"Because I don't like it." Semi sneered. Of course.

"Well, what did you do last time?" Semi questions as he found a bench to sit down on. "Whatever it was, it worked. So do something similar." Semi took out his phone and began playing on it

"Yeah, but it wasn't me she was mad at..." Satori admits.

"Then try harder." Semi waves off Satori's anxiety with one, uninterested comment. "She likes you still, right? Just keep doing that persistence thing"

Meanwhile, after going over everything for (S/Name)'s confession and having Soekawa unexpectedly drop in, (Name) had become even more worn down and stressed. Her brain had been in overdrive for over a day now, and she still had Satori to deal with. She was walking down the hall towards the rest of the team with the water bottles

"Why are you making that face? It's annoying. Quit it." a familiar voice called to her. It wasn't as harsh as it was when she first heard it, but she knew it was Shirabu's genuine feelings.

"Shirabu?" (Name) questioned him as she looked over at him.

"You've been weird. What's up?" Shirabu quietly questioned her as he began to walk beside her. His face seemed displeased, but not with her.

"I'm just... a little bit stressed." Shirabu scoffs.

"A little bit stressed causes you to eat half a family-sized bag of chips?" (Name) pouts at Shirabu, but he lets it roll off him. "Oh stop it, you know I'm right." (Name) looks forward. "What are you stressed about? The confession? The games? You shouldn't be stressed about the games you know."

"It's Satori." Shirabu groans slightly. Of course, it was.

"Are you making things way more dramatic than they need to be again?" (Name) was about to give him another pout, but she stops herself to give a tired look forward. "Hey." He continues "You're stressed out and tired. Taichi couldn't help, and neither could a giant bag of chips. There's one person you haven't tried because you're being a child and not getting over yourself." He stops walking at the same time she does "Isn't that right? (Name)?" (Name) stares at him with wide eyes. "You know you overreacted, but you don't know how to let it go. He still very clearly loves you." Shirabu stuck out his tongue at the thought of the PDA the tall middle blocker had been showing. "One fight doesn't break people up. If it does, then you didn't try hard enough." (Name) looks at Shirabu and blinks. "Maybe you didn't know this because you're a child and all you read are romance mangas with the perfect couple that doesn't fight or anything. Regardless, you have a lot of growing to do still, and he needs to grow too. You both are children." (Name) pouted again, "Quit it, I'm right."

"You didn't have to be so rude about it though,"

"You're being a child and you have no excuse. You can solve math problems faster than anyone in my class, but you can't figure out how to solve your own relationship problems. You're overcomplicating things." (Name) looks to the side. "If you can't handle this much stress, then you better learn how to resolve what's causing it." Shirabu then runs ahead with Taichi so that the group wouldn't come back together. Taichi smiles as Shirabu catches up with him.

"What was that about?" He questions

"She was getting overwhelmed. (S/Name)'s confession mixed with Tendou-senpai's jealousy and their fight probably has her stressing out too much. She's going to be a manager, she needs to not get stressed out like that." He then huffed and gave Taichi a wry smile "Plus that pout is annoying." Taichi gave a lazy smile back before looking ahead again

"You do make a good brother."

"Excuse me?"

The games went by quickly and without notice. Each one exciting in its own way, but each one (Name) had something else on her mind. She'd been angry at Taichi for days before and didn't feel like this, and she had been angry at Itsuki for a whole month before and never felt like this.

All she wanted to do was talk to Satori. Even if it was just getting pestered by him. She missed him.

(Name) walked down the halls of the dorm after having a study session with Shirabu and Taichi. They had packed their bags with textbooks and study materials to weigh them down to give (S/Name) ample reason to call Ushijima and have him help her with them. (Name) quietly entered her dorm as to not disturb her roommate, but found her to be sitting on one of the stools near the kitchenette

"What are you doing awake?" (Name) timidly questioned her roommate. Her roommate looks up

"Honey bunny your boyfriend is in your room." she let out a long yawn "He woke me up when he knocked on the door asking for you." she began dozing off slightly "So I let him... in..." Her forehead made contact with the counter as she began sleeping once more. (Name) grimaced slightly.

'She can sleep anywhere...' (Name) looked towards her room and feels a small smile creep on her face. She didn't hear anything from her room, so she had an idea of what was going on.

She opened her door to see Satori curled up with a stuffed rabbit in her bed. His hair was let down and covering some of his face. (Name) swooned slightly at how peaceful he looked.

"That's your boyfriend, right hon-bun?" (Name)'s sleepy roommate questioned, "I didn't just let some weirdo into your room, right?"

"No, he is my boyfriend..." (Name) says quietly "Um... You should get some sleep, too, you look like a panda," her roommate grunted before sliding out of the chair she was in and slugging to her room. (Name) shut her door behind her before approaching the sleepy Satori in her bed. She blushed slightly, but she had gotten more used to his attempts and his need to be close to her. She knew she was supposed to be mad at him right now, but she couldn't. She saw that he had cleaned up from a long day and come down to her room just for her. Even when she wasn't there he waited for her.

How could she be mad at him?

(Name) took a deep sigh before reaching out a shaky hand to Satori. She gently gripped his shoulder and moved it slightly.

"Satori? Wake up, Satori..." his red eyes open slightly to examine the small rabbit before him. In his groggy state, he was able to identify his beloved and smiled.

"(Naaaaame)-chan! Come cuddle meeeee!"

"Satori, it's almost curfew, you're going to get kicked out," (Name) tried to reason with him, but he seemed determined. He grabbed one of her wrists and pulled her closer with all his strength.

"I don't care." He replies in a different tone. She's heard it before, but she didn't expect to hear it right now. "You haven't talked to me all day, I missed you." He admits as a smile widens on his face. (Name)'s face bursts with petals of reds and pinks.

"S-So that's w-why you're in my room?" (Name) questions timidly, Satori smiles once again through his fallen bangs.

"Yeah, everything in here smells like you. It's relaxing" He tugs (name) a little closer. "Hey," He catches her attention. "I didn't mean to imply our promises meant nothing." (Name)'s eyes soften. Her breathing slows and her muscles relax.

"I-I... I was going to apologize for my outburst. I didn't consider your feelings and it was childish..." she lowered her gaze "I need to work on it." His eyes widen slightly as he examines her.

"I'm not mad at you, I just don't want you to ignore me." He admitted as he continued to pull on (Name)'s wrist. She was now against her bed. "I don't like it." (Name) averts her gaze and gives a shy smile. "Noooooooooo~! I want you to look at meeeeeeeeee~! Cuddle me and I'll forgive yoooooooooooou~!" Satori whined. (Name) giggled slightly before giving in to Satori's demands. She stiffly crawled into her own bed as Satori wrapped his arms around her to pull her closer. He buried his face in her hair and gave her a kiss on the head. Her heart races as she begins to blush once more.

"Hey... Satori?"

"Hm?" (Name) paused as her mind went blank for the first time that day. Her heart slowed to a reasonable pace as she looked up at the red-eyed boy. He stared down into her timid eyes and felt his own heart race. His lips parted slightly as he awaited her response.

"I think..." She began. A flutter ran from her stomach to her throat. Her hands were slightly sweaty as she focused once more on the boy in front of her. She took a deep breath. Her lungs almost rejected the air they so desperately needed. "I think I lo-" (Name) was suddenly interrupted by the call of an RA

"Curfew, kids! Get to your dorms!" (Name) flinches and silences herself. She jumps out of her own bed and makes a path for Satori

"Oh well, I guess it's bedtime! Hahaha, look at that, good night Satori! See you tomorrow! (S/Name) would be mad if we stayed up too late! Sleep well and rest up for tomorrow!" Her words were panicked. She hurried Satori out of her room, but right as he was at her door frame, he stopped

"Wait! What were you going to say? It sounded important!"

"Not important! Get to bed! See you tomorrow!" (Name) then quickly closed her dorm room door. A blissful smile graced Satori's lips after he saw the flustered face of the little rabbit. He had a good idea of what she wanted to say, and that was enough for him right now.

"Man, what a day,"


	15. Mysterious Mentor

(Name)'s stress levels had gone down considerably. The only thing that was stressing her out currently was (S/Name)'s confession. Her heavy bag made her tilt slightly, and Shirabu couldn't resist.

"S'matter (Name)? Too much for the little rabbit?" (Name) gave him a glare, which with as tiny as she was, it wasn't too effective.

"Are you offering to carry it for her?" Taichi soon interjects. An equally heavy bag was slung over his shoulder. "How thoughtful."

"Wait, no-" but before Shirabu could further deny how much he really didn't want to carry her bag, Taichi had already taken the heavy bag off (Name)'s person and slung it over Shirabu. "Here, take mine too."

"KAWANISHI-" (Name) watched and began to laugh some. Shirabu whipped his head around to the sound of her giggling and grimaced. "Oh shut up."

Ohira, Yamagata, and Semi look back at the first years as they continued to screw around and torment one another.

"They sure can be weird sometimes..." Semi sighs as he watched (Name) fill her bag further with things just to piss off Shirabu. This was fueled by Taichi as he found more things to place in her bag. Shirabu intensely glared at them.

"Kinda makes you wonder if our seniors looked at us the same way last year." Ohira smiled and laughed a little.

"I think we acted appropriately for our situation though," Yamagata chimes in as he watches (Name) drape her jacket over a superbly pissed off Shirabu. Semi and Ohira raised their eyebrows at the Libero. "What?"

"You don't think the first bus incident was a bit dramatic?" Ohira began

"The tea incident?" Semi added

"The laundry fight?" Ohira tacked onto that

"I would add the first training camp to that list too, but the peeping incident was all the senior's fault."

"Okay! Okay! I get it... we were a little dramatic."

"Were?" Satori soon pops in with his input. Yamagata quickly whips around with his index finger extended.

"I would like to point out that 75% of that drama was caused by YOU." Satori dramatically places his spider-like fingertips on the center of his chest.

"I'm appalled that you would accuse me of such things!" With a quick flick of his chin, his face was angled towards the sky. (Name) noticed his antics and smiled. Semi began adding his own experiences with the boy, as did a busy (S/Name). Ohira, as polite as he was, couldn't bring himself to add his own experience in the roast of the ruby-haired boy. Semi then turned to (Name).

"You have to have something to add (Name)-chan," The younger manager briefly paused her torment of her second fake brother and began to contemplate what Semi had said. Sure, Satori had his dramatic moments, but she had seen sides of him that were very mature as well. When she tried to think of drama, all she could think of was the drama she caused. Her smile curved downward, immediately being picked up by Satori. He watched her carefully.

"I'm having trouble thinking of anything," She replies as she backs up, becoming bashful. Satori could be immature at times, but he had a switch. It was something she had noticed while courting him. Most of the time he chose not to use it, but it was there. He used it whenever he had to respect one of her boundaries, or when he needed to get serious about something. All the times Shirabu criticized her for being over dramatic reverberated in her head. All that drama was rooted in her own childishness and inexperience.

"Not even one time? I really doubt that, (Name)-chan." (Name) nods before pulling the corners of her mouth towards the sky once again.

"Yup! He treats me pretty well." (Name) states matter-of-factly. Something wasn't right. It wasn't about their relationship at all, but (Name) was starting to compare herself to others. Her head lowers slightly, but her peachy smile remains.

(Name) couldn't believe how one tiny question made her spiral so quickly. Semi didn't mean anything by the question, and it was mostly a playful gesture. (Name) watched as the ever mature and maternal (S/Name) seemed to effortlessly care for each member of the team like it was nothing. She easily directed the benchwarmers as the badgered her with questions of what to do next and where things went. Sure, (Name) knew all that stuff too, but (S/Name) was the one they went to. She could handle it.

'If I faded into the background, only Taichi and Satori would really notice, but if I wasn't connected to them personally would the team really need me? Does the team need a child?' (Name) hands off a few water bottles to some pinch servers.

"(Name), it's game time," Taichi informs the girl. She raises her head from water bottles and nods. She then gently places them down and jogs out the gym doors. Taichi seemed to have been distracted by (S/Name)'s progress with Ushijima, so he didn't notice his little sister's brewing internal crisis.

(Name) gripped the railing as she watched Shiratorizawa battle against the giant oak that is Aoba Johsai. The battle for dominance intensified with every rally, and (Name) could feel the excitement. Her only problem was trying to keep up without intensely focusing. She understood what a good receive looked like, and she could tell how well a block looked. She knew the basics from middle school, but she still felt she lacked something. Everyone had a special skill on the team that they sharpened to a fine point, what was hers?

"Ah, I made it in time to see the start." a voice called from behind her. With a slight bit of curiosity, she turned to see who was behind her.

The woman looked to be a college student. Her dress was casual and laid back. She wore capris with low cut canvas shoes. Her tank top was covered by a lengthy cardigan. Her hair was tied up in a high bun while hair framed her face, not even attempting to cover the scar on her forehead. The that was loose around her face was dyed a lighter color than the rest of her hair. (Name) blinked at her once before focusing her attention back on the volleyball court.

"Ah! Shiratorizawa's in the lead! That's no surprise! But Aoba Johsai isn't giving up!" the woman parked herself next to (Name) and observed the waxed court below the pair. "You're in a tracksuit, are you a manager for one of the teams?" The woman asks. (Name) jumps slightly and looks away.

"Um... Sh-Shiratorizawa..." (Name) tenses up around the woman. Her eyes widen as she looks at (Name) with amazement.

"Really! They have 2 managers right now? That's pretty cool!" the woman looks out once again. Her eyes seemed different when she gazed out onto the court. "So I'm guessing the main manager is sitting right there?" She pointed at (S/Name), who was currently sending a message to Soekawa through gestures. Soekawa understood and gave a message to Yamagata, which he repeated to Shirabu. Shirabu glanced at (S/Name) with a slight smile, acknowledging whatever she said. "She seems strong, like a pillar." The woman observes.

"She is..." (Name) tried to gain confidence through her senior, but it wasn't working this time. Something about this woman was different. She wasn't malicious or ill-willed, she seemed to have something else that emitted power.

"Ah, is she a second year? She seems to synergize with only some of the team." The woman questioned again. (Name) nodded. "She must be a really good manager though, am I right?" (Name) slid her eyes up to the woman again. "Must be tough being the next in line below her. She's a natural nurturer, isn't she?" The woman leaned against the rail as she kept her eyes glued to (S/Name). Said manager was so engrossed with what she was doing that she didn't feel the gaze of the college student. "How do you feel about that? Is it a lot of pressure?" (Name) gasped slightly. Why was this woman questioning all of this?

"I-It's alright. (S/Name) is helping me, so I'm alright..."

"What about when she isn't there? Can you handle the team when she's gone? Or does it feel like a piece is missing? Are you adequate support? Or does it feel like you could just disappear?" (Name) ripped her attention from the game and stared down the older woman.

"Why are you talking to me?" (Name)'s courage rose as she felt the need to defend herself. This woman was clearly more than she was letting on. The woman turned to her and rested an elbow on the rail. She waited for the cheers from the crowd of maroon-clad students to die down before continuing.

"Maybe because you're the most pathetic looking manager I've ever seen." The woman said with a bit of snarl in her tone. (Name) nearly fell over from the insult. She quickly picked herself back up and made a pout. The woman laughed and looked over at the face (Name) made "What do you plan on accomplishing with that?" she questioned as she poked her cheek. "Anyone ever tell you that you're like a bunny?" the woman laughs again before focusing back on the game. "Anyways, how will that pout of yours help your team?" (Name) became angrier with each word the woman said.

"Why do you care?" (Name) became even more defensive around the woman. Something about her really got under (Name)'s skin. It was similar to Shirabu's abrasiveness, but she wasn't as outwardly blunt. The woman sighs before looking over a player on the opposite side.

"Tell me all you can see about that player right there. The one with the shaved head and kinda nervous looking." The woman's long index finger points out a libero currently waiting on the sidelines. (Name) huffs before peering over at the boy. The boy shivered slightly due to (Name)'s glare, but he never pointed out her as the source.

"He's a libero, and he's right-handed." (Name) pointed out the obvious. "He also looks to be a first-year. He isn't as confident as the older looking Libero." the woman next to her nods and looks down on the boy as well.

"You're right. He is a first-year libero, but anyone with eyes can tell you that. The thing that was a little harder was telling me he's right-handed." The woman gripped the rail slightly. Her painted red nails scratch against the paint and her nose twitches. "Well, I can tell you this. He used to be a setter." (Name)'s head whips around to the woman. "Think about it. A Libero has almost no use for his hands unless he's catching a jump float. A libero doesn't attack, and most of his receives are underhand." (Name) leans in slightly. She notices the woman's nose twitch again. "So why would someone like that care so much about his hands?" (Name)'s eyes widen as she thought about what the older lady had just said. She appealed perfectly to (Name)'s reasonable side and looked out onto the court once more. She observed as the boy began to pick at his nails slightly, and she realized what the observant woman meant. His nails were kept a little longer than most other boys and were similar to Shirabu and Semi's. He regulated his hands because he needed to control the ball. "Although, he works well as a libero right now. He's not getting sent in much, but he's right there to observe his upperclassman." (Name) narrowed her eyes and tried to pick out anything else about the boy, but began to have trouble. "If I were to write notes for my team, I would mention him, but I wouldn't put an emphasis on him. He's clearly been working on some sort of technique that he wants to implement though, so I would add a note to keep an eye on him. Other than that, he's a libero for a top four team in Miyagi." She then looked over to a focused (Name) "If you made notes, you would have missed that." (Name) flinches as her pout drops "Something like that could cost a match point." the intense gaze of the long woman next to her makes her shiver slightly "Do I have your attention now?"

"Who... who are you?" (Name)'s voice wavered as she tried to be brave again, but a pout failed her and the burst of bravery she had before was now gone. She was left without any defense.

"Just your local college student and aspiring librarian." she places a hand on her hip before dramatically looking over the girl in front of her. "And your soon to be savior!" Her teeth let off a glimmer as she flashed (Name) a wide smile. (Name)'s deadpan expression showed the woman that she was not impressed at all with what she was saying. "Hey don't give me that..." The woman cleared her throat before straightening out again and crossing her arms "My name is Furandoru Mikan. Call me Mika if you want." she shifted her weight onto her other foot as she looked out at the court once again. "I'm the manager for my college team, I also specialize in research and information finding."

"So... why are you here? Do you have a brother or something that's playing?" (Name) dug a bit deeper, making Mikan smile. "High school volleyball isn't the most popular thing to watch..." (Name)'s voice tapered out as she continued her sentence. Mikan chuckled slightly before speaking once more.

"You're right, I do have a connection with one of the teams playing today, but all those connections have passed. They've graduated and moved on to bigger things in life." she played with one of the strands of hair that formed around her face. "I will always have a connection with this team, though." she smiled "Also if you couldn't tell, I knew you were a Shiratorizawa girl." (Name) sighed and gave a slight smile before looking down at the court again. Satori was now on, switching out for Yamagata. "Your attention shifted quickly. Are you dating one of them?" (Name) blushed as Mikan looked down at the court. "Oh! is it that crazy middle blocker right there? Looks pretty wily." Mikan observed the middle blocker look up to the stands as he hyper-focused on (Name). "Oh ho ho! So I am right! He just gave you away you know." (Name) wanted to curl up into a ball and just wait for the game to be over.

Meanwhile, on the painted hardwood floors of the court, Satori watched as the older woman spoke to the rabbit. The usually hyper-focused manager was being distracted by the college student next to her. He lined himself up against the net with his hands protecting the back of his head, waiting for the serve behind him to fly over the net. He was in no way able to help the young manager from his position, and neither could her brothers. Taichi had to focus for his serve, and couldn't even spare a glance at the girl, and Shirabu was carefully plotting out the other team.

"Your boyfriend seems concerned with me talking to you, will that affect the way he plays?" Mikan points out. (Name) flinches and begins to shiver slightly. Her entire body was now glowing and flushed. She was quick to wave her hands about to assure she was fine. Satori blinked a few times before focusing back on the game. "You seem to get flustered when I mention him. Something special going on?"

"Why-Why-Why are yo-You-" (Name) continued to fumble. Mikan sighed

"Alright. I'll cut to the chase." She adjusts her cardigan as she slouched slightly. "I'm worried about the quality of the team with you as a manager." (Name)'s eyes became wide. Her body went cold as her breathing was strangely calm. She was silent, and her jittering ceased. "Tell me, why did you become a manager?" Mikan pressured. "Was it a selfish reason like being close to your boyfriend? Or is there another reason?" (Name) couldn't move. "Being a manager is more than being a pretty face. Have you found your place? Or did you think you could skirt by on being just a laundry maid?" (Name) lowered her head slightly, breaking her marble-like facade.

"I'm..." (Name) found her bravery once again, but it wasn't out of anger. She felt compelled to advocate for herself. "I'm not content with that. I know I have no unique place. I don't know where to start." she grips her fists lightly. She gazed down at the court to see a block. A spiky black haired wing spiker seemed very displeased with Satori's sadistic look. It was strange, but it made her heart flutter slightly. "You're right. I was being selfish when I applied to be the assistant manager. I wasn't thinking past my second year." (Name) lifted her head with a new determination. A sense of grace ran through her. "But... I want to do all I can. I want my team to succeed!"

Mikan's smile widened as she saw the glimmer of maturity that (Name) unwittingly showed to her. The little lop-eared bunny stood before the grand Flemish rabbit. Mikan tilted her head up and let out a tiny laugh, then took the tiny lop's hand.

"If you really want to improve, meet me at the library." Mikan scribbled down an address and a time on the soft palm of (Name). "I'll teach you how to really use your talent." (Name)'s eyes glimmered as the older woman cooly turned to leave, but stopped. (Name) furrowed her brow as she observed Mikan look down at the game and observe a bit longer. Mikan sighed before leaning on the rails and intensely looking down. "Dang it, I was supposed to make a cool exit, but now I want to watch the game." (Name) began to sweat. The woman's mystery and mysticism were obliterated with one swift motion.

Once the game was over, (Name) reunited with her senior manager. The two conversed slightly before (Name) wished her senior luck on her endeavors of love. (Name) smiled and walked down the hall towards the bus without her bag. She kept glancing down at the palm of her hand and remembered the far from the elegant and graceful lady who had confronted her and made her face a harsh reality.

(Name) looked down at her palm and examined the messy handwriting. She took out her phone and took a picture of the ink before it got the chance to smudge. Just as she slides her phone back into her pocket, long arms wrapped around her. She felt a kiss on her head and a breath on her cheek as a chin rested on her shoulder. She looked to the side to see a relaxed Satori. She smiles before leaning into the sweet embrace. No one else was around to witness the sugary sweet couple.

"Ah~ (Name)-chan, we're going to nationals again," He gave several kisses on her cheek. (Name) let out a giggle and nuzzled his face.

"Mhm," the subtle vibration from her lips made Satori's heart soar. He tried to keep himself on track for the reason he wanted to talk to her alone, but he couldn't help himself. He let himself get distracted by the girl. He had many concerns that had just melted away once he got attention from his favorite person.

He was supposed to talk to her about the woman she was conversing with.

He was supposed to talk to her about Itsuki and the possibility that he may make another appearance.

He had been becoming increasingly worried about the blond basketball player and returning to Tokyo. He almost wanted (Name) to just stay in Miyagi so that she would be safe. He knew that he should talk to Taichi as well, but he wanted to get (Name)'s opinion first. This was (Name)'s issue before it was Taichi or his problem. Any solution had to involve her.

"You're too cute (Name)-chan, I need more pictures of you~!" his grip became tighter on the girl. (Name) gave a nervous laugh.

"Ah, I don't know about that..." (Name) squirmed slightly. "But... you know that thing I couldn't tell you about?" She begins to smile as she realized that her promise would not apply anymore very soon. The airtight contract that Shirabu had made with her was about to be void.

"Yeah? Of course. I've been insanely curious about it you know! I can't believe my (Name)-chan could keep something from me~!" He teased. (Name) gave an affectionate kiss on his cheek before continuing. The kiss made Satori's face warp from mischief to a goofy bliss.

"I'll be able to tell you soon. The promise I made is about to be completely irrelevant. The situation is about to pass." She gave him another bright smile and happy eyes. Satori let out a dreamy sigh as he released the girl from his grip. She surprised him by spinning around and latching onto his neck. He blinked a few times before he wrapped his arms around her once again. (Name) then noticed the slippery substance on his neck, it was the same on his forehead, and his hands were also covered. "Wait! I change my mind! You're sweaty!" (Name) tried to squirm her way out of his grip. A devilish smile lined his lips as he gripped tighter.

"Oh but (Name)-chaaan! Let me hold you for just a bit loooonger!"

"Satoriiiiiiiiii!"

Once (S/Name) returned to the bus and the second years began to gawk. Shirabu had a sly smile on his face.

"Ah, (Name)-senpai, I'm glad the plan worked out." (Name) and Taichi turn quickly and both release a tense breath.

"I got worried when I didn't see Oikawa (S/Name)-senpai!" (Name) smiled. Satori narrowed his eyes at the younger manager before focusing on his friend again. Taichi nodded before placing a hand on (Name)'s shoulder to steady her. He could tell that she had been nervous about the entire incident, but now that it was over she was probably overcome with relief and freedom.

"Thought he would throw a wrench into it." He lazily admits. He looks back at his seniors. "We can talk about it later now that (Name) isn't promise bound." Satori's eyes widen. What did they know? (Name) was promise locked in by them? Who closed all of those loopholes? His eyes couldn't help but naturally shift to the first-year setter. The intelligent boy was retrieving his bag from Ushijima and giving Taichi shit about not getting it for him when the middle blocker gladly got (Name)'s. Had Shirabu really found a way to make that promise airtight?

"Whoa... Shirabu might be scarier than I thought..." He whispers before boarding the bus with the rest of his team. Yamagata, Ohira, and Semi all gave the second-year middle blocker a questioning look but brushed it off as they followed. They were far more concerned with what Ushijima had done.


	16. A seed

_A small girl sits alone in a large, bustling cafeteria. Her breath was heavy as cold whispers rolled around her. She shivered, and in an attempt to calm herself decided to people watch. She spots a pair of tall, athletic boys walk into the hall. The blond one of the two shoved the redhead after the redhead seemed to make some sort of comment. The girl observed them. Clearly, they were in sports clubs. She decided to observe them more as her eyes dripped down to their fingers. The redhead had taped fingers and bruises on his forearms. She quickly deduced he was a volleyball player. The other boy was evenly toned, and he was clearly trying to build strength. He had no bruises like the other boy, and his fingers were not taped. His wrists were not particularly flexible looking, but his fingers were particularly calloused. She took a shot and guessed he was a basketball player. Her suspicions were further supported when she saw him perfectly toss an empty can into a waste bin. The girl looked elsewhere before the boys could notice her stare. Her eyes, unfortunately, met with a boy from the soccer team. His strides were long as he marched up to the small table that the girl sat at and slammed his hands down as soon as he reached the surface. Her lunch was disturbed enough to fall on the floor next to (Name)._

_"You! You were the one who made a fool of me in class!" The soccer player leaned in and intimidated the younger girl. "You should have let that mistake go you know! No one likes a know-it-all, especially from a flat-chested girl like you!" (Name) began to cower in her seat as the boy really began to examine her. "Wait a minute... why are you even here? You look like an elementary kid!" He stomps his foot, firmly squishing her lunch flush against the floor. "It's not 'bring your brat to work day' you know! So why are you here? Huh?" His face was getting too close for the girl's comfort. Tears filled her eyes as she panicked. This boy was doing this for no other reason than a simple correction she made in class._

_(L/Name) (Name). A bright young girl who was moved up a grade and was accepted into Shiratorizawa's junior high. Her intelligence always wowed the adults around her, but apparently, it made her fellow students resent her. They were insecure, and the high stress of classes made them feel inadequate at times. The inadequacy was only fueled by this girl, she was a year younger than them fully comprehending everything and keeping up effortlessly._

_"Are you crying? How pathetic." the soccer player continued to pressure her. She had made one small correction to his answer in class, trying to help him and keep him from learning the wrong thing, but apparently, he resented it. "Do you need me to grab you milk or something?" He continued to taunt her as more tears fell. She tried to move out of her chair and leave the table, but he stopped her "Where are you going, huh?" His comments began to attract the attention of those around him. Some observed who the boy was talking to and looked away. Others gave a disapproving stare but didn't intervene. (Name) finally got away as she rushed out of the mess hall crying. She was scared. She was fearful of what the muscular boy would do to her if she had stayed any longer. The blond and the redhead watched as (Name) quickly turned a corner in an attempt to escape faster and then lost sight of her._

_"Jeez... I knew Yuu was an asshole, but that's pushing it..." The redhead comments before sitting down across from his friend._

_"Taichi, you're getting pretty concerned. You have a crush or something?" The blond comments as he stabbed at his food with his spoon. The redhead dubbed as Taichi grimaces and shakes his head._

_"You saw what happened, that was harsh." He then looked away and scoffed. "Whatever, you're right. Not my problem." the redhead stuffed some food into his mouth before tossing thoughts of pity for (Name)._

_Later in the day, the athletic pair of boys were stopping in the library so that Taichi could pick up a book for his class. Taichi's blond cohort yawned as he looked over books on a taller shelf._

_"Hey, doofus, If you fall asleep on me I'm not dragging you back." Taichi smiled as his friend glared at him, but before he could retort, a large crash was heard. Both of the boys' heads whipped around to spy a familiar small girl on her hands and knees, picking up scattered papers. Two girls were nearby._

_"Watch it, (L/Name)! Your binder was totally in our way!" one of the girls stomped on a paper that (Name) was reaching for, and almost crushed her fingers. Her friend smiled slightly before snatching a pastel pink book from the floor. It had clearly fallen from (Name)'s possessions. (Name)'s head shot up as the book was being flipped through by the two girls._

_"Hey, is this a manga? Wow, She's lamer than I thought."_

_"No! Give that baaaaack!" (Name) whined as she jumped at the manga. The tormenting duo was taller than (Name), so they were easily able to raise up their arms and keep the pink manga out of reach._

_"Ha ha! How lame! Does it really mean that much to you?" after uttering that sentence, a Hello Kitty bookmark flutters from between the pages. The girls spy the bookmark and pause. A wicked idea fills the mind of the girl holding the book. She quickly finds the page that was marked and took hold of all the pages after it. With one swift motion, she ripped the following pages and tossed the book down to (Name). She still held the unread parts of the book as (Name) looked on in horror._

_"Guess you can reread it all you want now~!" her friend snickered before turning on her heels and walking out. They both skipped along as if they had heard the best news in the world, but all they had was a partial book that (Name) had not gotten to read yet._

_"What... what on earth?!" Taichi gawked. "I-Itsuki... you saw all that, right?" The blond next to him nodded._

_"Yeah... I used to have a crush on Mai-chan... but that was one of the ugliest things I've ever seen." Taichi shifted his gaze back to his friend and furrowed his brow._

_"Should... should we go check on her?" Itsuki sighed before looking over at the weeping girl. She had stuffed everything into her bag and clearly was about to bolt._

_"If we are, we should do it quickly." Itsuki then rushed over, not realizing that his large size and recent trauma would make him appear as a threat. "Hey!" (Name) flinched and looked up. She was ready to cry again when she saw the boy approach. Taichi wanted to hit his stupid friend for not realizing that (Name) was probably still in a traumatized state and that a boy shouting at her probably wasn't what she needed._

_(Name) clutched her bag to her chest and ran away. Taichi slapped his forehead before slapping the back of Itsuki's._

_"Doofus! You think running at her and screaming was a good idea?" Itsuki yelped as he got his head smacked, and clutched his hair._

_"If I didn't hurry she was going to run away!" Itsuki snapped back_

_"She did run away!" the boys began to playfully bicker before the librarian shushed them._

_Day after day in the same week, (Name) became the target of the insecure. Those who disapproved did nothing, and those who were scared looked away. Taichi and Itsuki caught bits and pieces of the abuse and were increasingly becoming more disgusted._

_"Do you think we should tell a teacher or something?" Itsuki began watching his steps as he climbed the stairs. Taichi looked up as he climbed beside him._

_"I've been thinking about that. I have no idea. We don't know what kind of help she wants if she wants any help at all." they both reached a landing and turned towards another set of stairs. Taichi stopped, catching Itsuki's attention. He looked up and spotted (Name), back facing towards the stairwell. Both boys furrowed their brows as they heard a voice that didn't belong to (Name) berate her and tell her how she should kill herself._

_"Do you read all this Shojo crap because you know you'll never find a boyfriend? It's pathetic you know." (Name) took a half step back as she shrunk into herself._

_"G-Give..." She whispers. "Give it back..." the person in front of her scoffs. Itsuki finally recognizes it as Mai. Taichi's face was intense as he watches the girls in front of her smile. He subconsciously got ready to move into action. He bent his knees and raised his arms slightly._

_"Fine, you can have it back~" Mai forcefully pushed the ripped out pages she had been hoarding into (Name)'s chest, causing her to lose her balance and fall back towards the stairs. Taichi sprinted to her aid and extended his arm in order to catch her, preventing the back of her head from smashing into the sharp stairs. Itsuki watched in awe as the scene moved in slow motion. He witnessed (Name)'s head hitting Taichi's shoulder, and Taichi's right arm wrapped around her head. His left arms and knees weren't as unscathed. Taichi's knees scraped against the stairs, leaving them raw and slightly bloodied. His arm collided with the sharp edge, making a gash._

_"Taichi!" Itsuki screams out as he rushed to the middle of the stairs where Taichi and (Name) laid. Mai and her friend gawked as they witnessed the blood drip from Taichi's forearm. Itsuki clenched his teeth and began to glare at the pair. "What the HELL were you two thinking! If Taichi's like that, what do you think would have happened to (Name)-chan! You both are GROSS!" Mai clicked her tongue before walking off with her friend. "HEY! WHERE THE HELL DO YOU TWO THINK YOU'RE GOING!"_

_"Itsuki. We need to go to the nurse." Taichi says calmly as he helps (Name) up. She was tightly gripping the exposed pages of her manga. She was shaking and silent._

_"Yeah we do, you're bleeding really bad." Itsuki looks over (Name) and sighs. He felt guilty that he had only been watching all this time. He never knew it would escalate to something like this._

_"Not just because I'm bleeding." Taichi interrupted his thoughts "(Name) needs to go too." (Name) was small enough for the redhead to pick up and slowly walk down to the first floor. Itsuki watched as Taichi's childish innocence tumble down alongside his friend and drip from his knees and arm. It escaped with rivers of red as he carried the dazed and confused girl to the nurse._

_The nurse on duty was quick to treat Taichi. He sat stoically in an almost lazy apathy. (Name) sat on a bed as she stared blankly at the floor. Itsuki sat beside her as he waited for Taichi. Itsuki observed (Name) and carefully touched her back. He began slowly rubbing his hand up and down her back._

_"Well, your injuries aren't that bad. I'd watch the one on your arm though. It might scar." Taichi nodded before looking over at (Name). "If you're wondering about her, she's shaken up and is kind of in a daze. Did something happen?" The nurse questioned. Itsuki couldn't keep silent any longer and began to explain everything. Everything that (Name) had gone through since she began attending the school, or at least everything that the boys had witnessed. Taichi sat in silence as he watched (Name) react and relive each experience that slipped out of the heated Itsuki's mouth. Taichi grimaced and winced as he saw (Name) curl up even further. Once Itsuki was done, (Name) was fully doubled over and hugging her knees._

_"Well (L/Name)-chan, you can make a report to the school or choose not to. I cannot control what you do." The nurse remarks as she straightened some papers. "I highly recommend you do, but it's up to you." (Name) didn't move from her position. Taichi bit his lip from the stool he sat on. He quickly made a decision and did something he would never have done normally._

_"It won't happen again. I won't let it." He almost whispers, but the dead silence of the room carried his voice to (Name)'s frightened ears. She tore her face from her knees and looked over at Taichi. She blinks a few times before giving him her full attention. "I promise, I'll make sure (Name) is safe." (Name) watched as the redhead made his declaration. The nurse sighed as she quickly glanced over some papers on her clipboard._

_"Well, I'll let you 3 go for now. Be careful, okay?" she placed down the clipboard and adjusted her glasses before walking out of the office to attend to other issues. Itsuki sighs as he looked over at the girl next to him. He notices that she was still clutching the torn pages from the pink manga he had seen a few days before._

_"Hey, do you want to fix that? Here," he gently took the free pages and gestured for her to give him the other half "Some glue should make this as good as new," He smiles at the girl as she begins to loosen up "I'm Kobayashi Itsuki, and that's Kawanishi Taichi, what's your name?" the girl's shaky hand lifts up her bag, but she was too slow for Itsuki's liking. Taichi watched as his impatient friend fidgeted slightly, but Taichi shoots a glare._

_"(L/Name) (Name)..." she finally slips the broken book into Itsuki's hands. He quickly fished the medical tape from his bag and began to make sticky rolls with the tape and attaching it to the spine for a temporary repair._

_The next day (Name) keeps her head low, but a haughty soccer player finds her regardless._

_"Hey, you. (Name)-tan." The overly childish honorific makes her flinch. It wasn't a term of endearment, it was a way to diminish her and make her feel lesser. She was being treated like a child and as less of a person. "You better not be thinking of reporting Mai-chan, you got it?" (Name) sucked in a large gasp of air and held it in her lungs. The larger soccer player was threatening her. "You'll have hell to pay if you do." He attempted to back her up against one of the walls, but he was suddenly pulled back._

_"Hey! (L/Name)-chan! There you are! Let's go! We're gonna be late!" Itsuki had grabbed the soccer player's shoulder and pushed him back onto the ground. Taichi quickly hurdled over the fallen soccer star and began pushing both (Name) and Itsuki towards their classrooms_

_"Damn it Itsuki, you doofus! It's all your fault that we're gonna be late! Making me late is one thing, but making (L/Name)-chan late is entirely another thing!" (Name)'s eyes were wide as she continued to listen to the two bicker as she's pushed along by the boys who have accompanied her to the nurse the day before. At first, she was fearful, but Taichi's words echoed in her head._

_' It won't happen again...'_ _she thought in a semi-daze._

_"Damn Kobayashi and Kawanishi! I swear I'm gonna..." Yuu lifts himself up and mutters to himself as a golden girl watches. Her hair is perfectly arranged, and she held a volleyball underneath her arm. Her clenched fist loosens as she glances up at the trio of first years that had diffused the situation she was about to settle with her fists._

_"Yo. Ace, let's go." A lazier voice calls out to the Achilles of Shiratorizawa's girls' team._

_"Right. Coming." A smile spreads across the godly girl's face. 'Guess I didn't have to step in.'_

_A tense (Name) sits next to a laid back Taichi. He was quietly waiting for his thick-headed friend to come and sit with the duo. Taichi began poking at the food on his plate as (Name) sat quietly. Taichi began to grimace slightly_

_'Daaaaamn, I said I would protect her and everything, but I don't even know what to talk to her about. I barely even know (L/Name), this was such a big gamble. I don't usually take gambles like this! What happened Taichi? What happened to always knowing everything before going in? '_

_"Umm..." A soft voice broke him from his quickening thoughts. "Why do you... Why did you help me?" (Name)'s voice was shaky, and she refused to look Taichi in the eye. She squished her body with her arms, attempting to make herself smaller and take up less space. Taichi's mind cleared with the gentle question, and he looks down at the food he was once picking at._

_"If I stood around and watched, does that make me any better than those who were tormenting you?" he took hold of a bit of rice with his chopsticks and examined it. "Sure, I'm not directly responsible, but I'm not innocent either." He shifts his gaze to the cowering (Name), "You don't deserve to be treated like that. I never want that to happen again to you." (Name) looked up at the studious redhead and finally looked him in the eye. Behind his lethargic facade hid a more mature and caring boy. (Name)'s worries immediately melted away. They were very similar to her senior's eyes._

_"Kuh... Kawanishi-san," (Name) gave a broken smile and Taichi gave her his full attention "Thank you," Taichi blinks a few times before rubbing the back of his head and sighing._

_"Jeez, don't call me Kawanishi-san, that sounds way too formal, what am I? An old man?" A tray was soon slapped down on the table across from the two, causing both (Name) and Taichi to jump._

_"You're the closest thing we got to an old man," Itsuki laughed as he picked up a piece of chicken and stuffed it impatiently into his mouth. The heat of the fresh food caused him to create a hollow 'o' with his mouth as he sucked in the air in an attempt to keep his mouth from burning._

_"You doofus, if I'm an old man, you're a damn dog." Itsuki had to make a quick remark, so he painfully swallowed the warm food and shouted back._

_"Oh yeah? At least I can still learn new tricks!"_

_"Can you learn not to burn your esophagus with hot food?" (Name) panicked slightly as she held up a glass of ice water to Itsuki. Without thinking, the rash boy snatched the glass from her hands and drank it quickly. "Man, you idiot." Taichi jabbed again as he took a bit of rice into his mouth. Itsuki slammed down the glass (Name) had given him and playfully smiled_

_"Shut up!" Itsuki began to laugh a little, and Taichi followed suit. The banter was always playful with them, and (Name) saw that. All their laughter was contagious, and she began to laugh slightly as well. Both boys went silent as they watched (Name)'s small giggles encase their conversation. (Name) quickly noticed that she was the only one laughing, and lowered her head. Her face was red as she began to sputter._

_"I-I-I um... umm!" She looked away, but both boys smiled. She was in good hands._

Dark brown eyes shoot open in a dark room. The sun was far from making its appearance in the sky, and he was wide awake. His heart hurt slightly as he began to think about the first time he saw (Name) laugh like that. Was that when he began to feel the way he does? No, that was later. He took a deep breath as he shifted his blond head to look at his clock. 2:37 am. She was probably asleep. He took a chance and grabbed his phone from his nightstand and opened his messages. He was greeted by a fresh, blank screen with (Name)'s name displayed at the top. He had gotten a new number recently, so he finally had free access to her again. He knew Taichi had probably blocked his number from her phone. (Name) was too sentimental to block him. He knew this. He was going to abuse this fact.

Itsuki knew how to manipulate (Name) into talking to him.

(Name) was sleeping soundly after a long day of drama and stress. (S/Name)'s confession had gone smoothly, and Ushijima seemed very pleased with his new relationship. (Name) was also thinking about the mysterious woman who wanted to take (Name) under her wing.

A sudden buzz wakes (Name) from her light sleep. She looks at the time and at first, thinks it's Satori on another energy drink high. (S/Name) would kill him if he didn't sleep, so (Name) thought he was trying to get her to soothe him enough to sleep, however, the number wasn't saved in her phone. She groggily swipes her screen to look at the message. A cold shiver ran down her spine and shot her awake once she read what it said.

 **2:39 am** **Unknown:** (Name)-chan, please talk with me, it's Itsuki. I want to sort things out.

(Name) didn't know what to do. Her hands begin to shake and her breath becomes restricted and heavy.

 **2:40 am** **Unknown:** (Name) please, I just need to talk to you for a little. I really care about you and I would hate if you were anxious and stressed about me. I want to make things right.

 **Unknown:** please. We've known each other for so long, you know I would never hurt you. You know me

(Name) gasps slightly at that last line. Memories of middle school suddenly come flooding back to her as she reread the last sentence he sent. She began to remember laughter shared between her, Taichi and Itsuki. She remembered the times Itsuki and Taichi playfully bantered, and she remembered the times they worked together to cheer her up.

With shaky thumbs, she begins to tap the illuminated screen.

 **2:43 am** **(Name):** I'm listening


	17. Learning to Learn

The morning was cool and cloudy. The sun had risen, but it was obscured by an incoming storm. Its gentle rays attempted to pierce the grey, but it was in vain. (Name) was in a daze as she stared at the glossy-eyed collection of stuffed animals that Itsuki had sent her for the past few months. One particular stuffed animal was a blank-faced rabbit with floppy ears. Its realistic eyes were distant and cold. (Name)'s eyes shifted towards the yellow dog that sat right next to it. Its brown eyes were just as lifeless and cold, but its face seemed much happier.

(Name) felt herself about to nod off once again until she feels the gentle vibrate of her phone. She lazily picked it up and whipped it towards her face. She noticed the large green phone on the screen as her phone continued to vibrate.

"... Hello?" (Name) answered with a tired tone.

 **"YOU LITTLE BRAT! ARE YOU STANDING ME UP!? WHY I OUGHTA WALK ON CAMPUS AND DRAG YOUR LITTLE RABBIT ASS TO THE LIBRARY MYSELF! DO YOU WANT TO GET BETTER OR NOT!?"** Mikan's screams rang through the phone, snapping (Name) out of her stupor.

"M-Mikan-san! I-I-I'm so sorry! I'll be right there!" (Name) threw on a pair of pants and shoved her head into a sweater as she stayed on the phone with the older woman. Shoes slid onto her feet as she ran out the door with her bag. Once she flung the door open, Satori was waiting to greet her.

"Morning (Name)-chan! Hey, do you-"

"Sorrrcan'ttalkgottogoorMikanwilleatmepromiseI'lltalktoyoulaterbye!" She rushes through her words as she flies to the stairwell and down the stairs. Satori watches as his precious magical girl rushes her way out of the dorms and further into his heart. Her frantic actions made him want to run after her and tackle her with affection.

"Oh, Satori, It's you." A sleepy voice called from behind the middle blocker. He turned to see the messy bedhead of (Name)'s roommate.

"Oh, hey panda" Satori quipped at the tired seamstress. Her signature dark circles twitched slightly as she gave him a friendly smile.

"Glad to see (Name)'s full of life now. I was so worried about her this morning. She looked even more tired than me." Satori's ears perked up as he gave his full attention to what the sleepy seamstress had to say.

"What do you mean? Did she have a nightmare or something?" He doubted she did, any time she did, he would get a text from her.

"No, she looked kinda drained in general... do you think dressing her in bright, frilly clothes would help cheer her up?" Satori gave her a mischievous smile.

"I don't know, but I would love to see her in that."

"Haha, right? Wouldn't it be cute? I can make you a matching outfit t-" Satori quickly cut her off before rushing down the hall

"Welp! Look at the time! Gotta go! Have fun with your sewing!"

"Hey wait you would make the perfect model..."

The large imposing building that (Name) entered was covered in marble. The columns were all western-inspired, holding up the large painted roof that hung above the occupants' heads. Dark wood shelves held the muted colors of old book covers and foil lettering. The entire library smelled of aging paper, and the silence was only occasionally broken by quiet student chatter and studious sighs. Mikan sat in a lounging area with her arms outstretched on the chair she sat on. Her legs were crossed but took up as much space she could occupy in the modern chair. (Name) rushed in out of breath.

"I'm so sorry Mikan-san!" she huffed. "I swear I didn't forget, I'll be better next time," Mikan sighed and clicked her tongue.

"You're lucky I'm letting there be a next time. Let's get started." Mikan lifted herself up and led (Name) further into the modern yet musty library. (Name)'s shoes clack and clip along the hardwood floors of the library, while Mikan's shoes quietly crept by. (Name) looked around a little more. The library was clearly older, but there were signs of recent remodeling. Modern features were being added to the dated architecture and geometric furniture was slowly outnumbering its more organic counterpart.

The further they got in, the more dated it became. The well-used tables and chairs were abandoned in favor of the more modern setting up front, but Mikan seemed to prefer this area. She clearly knew this part of the library like the back of her hand as she twisted and turned through the aisles, leading little (Name) behind her. Mikan finally found the spot she was looking for.

A large, well-loved lumpy chair sat at the focal point of a group of chairs. Its cushions almost seemed recliner like, and its upholstery fabric was faded. The lattice pattern on the chair would have been very fashionable in its time, but it clearly was not now. It had been pushed so far into the back of the library as if the library wished to hide it. Next to it was a far simpler chair with floral (F/C) cushions. It looked comfortable, but the floral pattern was clearly the reason it had been moved to the back of the library.

Mikan threw herself down into the large, lumpy, lattice chair and beckoned (name) to sit in the floral one.

"Alright," Mikan adjusts herself so that she wouldn't sink into the overly soft cushions "Let's begin. As you know, you're an awful manager." (Name) pouts at her mentor, but Mikan quickly fixes it with a smack to the back of her head. "Cut that out, that'll get you nowhere." (Name) began to rub the back of her head as she looked up at Mikan. "I'm not going to be easy on you, got it? I have to admit, I've been observing you for a while." Mikan lets her body sink into the chair slightly as she laced her fingers together. "When I heard Shiratorizawa got a manager, I was thrilled. I looked into it and discovered your senior, (S/L/Name) (S/Name). She's the perfect manager for her generation. Instinctual, motherly, and knowledgeable about the game." Mikan pointed at (Name) "You have none of that." (Name) was about to pout again, but the threat of Mikan's hand raising up stopped her. "I began to worry for the future of the team once again when I saw you were the next in line."

"Again?" (Name) tilted her head. "You've had to worry about it before?" Mikan smiled as she saw the wheels in (Name)'s head turning. (Name) recalled when Mikan mentioned that her connections to a team had long since graduated and the fact that she approached her. "You... who were you to Shiratorizawa?"

"That's your first assignment. Figure out who the hell I am. I'm giving you one hour to complete this task." Mikan dramatically crossed her arms and lifted her chin. "Can you handle it little lop?" (Name) bit her lip slightly.

"What does this have to do with being a manager?!" (Name) whined.

"You'll see. Now get to it. Your hour starts now. The more you chatter the less time you have. And if you fail..." Mikan's face was consumed with darkness "I'm dumping you as a student."

(Name) was unmoved by Mikan's threat, and left silently to find a record.

"Hey! You were supposed to be more scared than that! I practiced that look in the mirror for hours!"

"Drama queen..." (Name) muttered under her breath before disappearing into the aisles of books.

(Name)'s search led her to the Shiratorizawa yearbooks. Each cover was decoratively ornamented with the school's covers and a variety of styles showed the fashion of that generation. (Name) had already guessed that Mikan was around 21, so she began looking at yearbooks from 4 years back. (Name) quickly found the era she was looking for and flung open all 3 books.

On the pages of one of the books, she found a dramatic looking Mikan next to what was probably (S/Name)'s seniors when she was a freshman. They looked rather tired of her drama, but their eyes also revealed a gentler feeling towards her. (Name) looked around a little more before pulling several other pieces of material and returning to Mikan. She had a full 15 minutes left on the clock.

Once she arrived at the area where Mikan was casually scrolling through her phone, (Name) got the urge to be slightly dramatic herself. She slammed down the books on the coffee table near the old chairs, causing Mikan to jump up in the air and fling her phone. Mikan's attention went to a smiling (Name).

"You little brat! This is a li-" Mikan was cut off by her own phone hitting her in the head. (Name) giggled.

"Sorry, Mikan-senpai." Mikan's ears perked up.

"Oh! So you figured out who I am little one?" Mikan leaned back into the chair "Tell me all you know."

"You were a Shiratorizawa manager 3-6 years ago, am I right?" Mikan pointed at (Name).

"You are very correct," She was ready to continue her lesson, but (Name) surprised her

"You also suffered an accident your third year while carrying a heavy load of laundry. You slipped and fell on the stairs, resulting in the scar on your forehead. After that, it must have been hard to find a replacement for you when you graduated." Mikan's eyes widen. (Name) had gone above and beyond what she asked for.

"H-How did you find out about that?!" (Name) lifted up an older looking school newspaper.

"There was an article about it in the school newspaper. I was curious about your scar, so I looked into it." Mikan's eyes begin to soften as she realized how much potential (Name) really had. She was the young manager that she never got to tutor.

"Good job kid, you're better than I thought." Mikan took the newspaper from the rabbit's hands and looked nostalgically at the headline. "This is the kind of stuff I like to see."

"Eh?"

"This stuff. Research." Mikan tossed the paper onto the coffee table "You had a hunch and you followed it, then you found not only the information you were looking for, but you satiated your own curiosity in the process. You have a knack for this huh?" (Name) blushed as she scratched the back of her head. "But don't get too full of yourself yet. There's still so much I can teach you." Mikan leaned forward. "From what I've seen, the players in your year are very intellect driven, correct?" (Name) nodded. "There's your niche. There's your place." Mikan stood and towered over (Name). "Rabbits are known for all sorts of things. Their luck, their hearing, their love of carrots, and they're known to run away." Mikan placed a sturdy hand on (Name)'s shoulder. "You've run away before, haven't you?" Mikan chuckled as she saw (Name) look away. "That's okay. It's, unfortunately, one of our talents." Mikan retracted her hand and placed it at her side "aside from running, one of the many talents that rabbits have is scouting. They build burrows and safe havens from which they peer out and look around. they're fantastic observers."

"Scouting?" (Name) tilted her head. That's not what (S/Name) did at all. (S/Name) was a fantastic cook and an emotional support system. She gave suggestions on how to improve form and power.

"You're thinking about (S/Name) again, aren't you?" (Name) flinched. "(S/Name) is an absolute freak of nature. Of course, you're going to feel inferior to her." Mikan crossed her arms "If I were to categorize her, I'd say she's an eagle. She soars above everyone around her and welcomes anyone into her nest.

"You're never going to be the manager that (S/Name) is. Rabbits cannot fly, so jump all you want, you're only going to tire yourself out." Mikan smiled as she tilted her head forward. "However, I hope you realize you're a freak of nature as well." (Name) flinches. "Just not in the way that (S/Name) is. (S/Name) will never be able to do what you can do." (Name)'s eyes widen. Was that really true? There was no way that she could be better at something than (S/Name). "Your idolization ends here." Mikan continues. "Along with your childish running away and moping. It all ends here. From now on you are the observer. The scout that runs valuable information from the court to your notes. What would take (S/Name) an entire night and day will take you mere hours." Mikan took a dramatic stance and delivered her final line "Let's take that natural talent you have and sharpen it into a weapon that your team cherishes! Let's make you a monster!" (Name) looks at her teacher with wondrous eyes. She had never been told that her own abilities were good enough. She had always just tried to copy (S/Name) without ever looking at herself and seeing what she was actually talented at. (Name) let out a held breath as she smiles.

"Yes, Senpai!" Mikan's happy face was hard to hide as she internally cheered that this pose worked out.


	18. A Garden Sprouts

(S/Name)'s absence meant that (Name) had to work twice as hard. The rest of the team was ruthlessly drilled while Ushijima went and trained in Tokyo. Each morning was started with 100 serves, and depending on the percentages that went out, 1000 were tacked on at the end of practice. (Name) worked hard to keep up, but she found herself lacking in certain skills. Her cooking was awful, and she knew it thanks to Kenjiro bluntly informing her after being used as one of her test subjects. She wasn't as strong either, so she always needed bench warmers to carry them for her.

Her observations, however, were second to none.

Some of the second string players were off-put by the younger girl's intense stare. She wrote without looking at her pad, and she seemed to judge every move they made. Kenjiro was also beginning to be annoyed. Satori, however, loved when she stared at him like that. It was like a raw form of the ever shy (Name) was making itself known. He could tell that something inside her was reaching the pinnacle.

"Oi. (L/Name). Quit staring like that." Kenjiro lightly snapped. Taichi shot him a glare, but (Name) only shook her head.

"Sorry, but I need to do Mikan-senpai's homework." (name) flipped back a paper on the pad to continue writing underneath. Coach Saito's ears perked up when he heard that unique name. It had been a while since anyone on his team had uttered it.

"Mikan-senpai? I don't know anyone by the name of Mikan..." Kenjiro grimaced. He hoped it wasn't another (S/Name) incident in the making.

"Mikan-senpai is helping me to become a better manager. I want to do better." (Name) smiles at Kenjiro "I want to help you guys fight for as long as possible!" Kenjiro is taken aback. (name)'s peachy smile began causing all sorts of reactions in his gut. He began to understand what Taichi saw. He saw that girl who means well and sometimes just needs a bit of a push. The girl who works hard to be adequate. She was immensely smart, and she exemplified this with each passing test. Shirabu clicked his tongue before grasping (Name)'s head and shoving her down into a seat. Both Satori's and Taichi's eyes quickly land on the slightly aggressive boy.

"Write all you want, just sit down for a bit. It would be annoying if you got tired." Kenjiro then jogs off to continue his serves.

'(S/Name)-senpai would be upset with me if I let her get tired...' He used the half-truth as a reason not to dig further and reflect on his own action. Taichi held in a snicker as he watched Kenjiro jog. Satori couldn't help himself as he jogged up next to the setter.

"I'm glad that my girl has a big brother like you looking after her." Kenjiro whipped his glare at Satori, who only laughed and trotted towards Semi in response.

Later that day, Satori was walking peacefully with (Name). She was going over notes and the like. Satori would peer over occasionally, but he would get lost in (Name)'s script every time. He was in bliss with her, but some questions nagged him from the back of his skull. He had never met Mikan, even though (Name) spoke highly of her. He didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. He wanted to be the relaxed boyfriend, but he found his thoughts wandering to the more overprotective side.

Boyfriend?

Satori mentally took a step back. Was he her boyfriend? What were they at this point? They had kissed, he's cuddled her, but what were they? He would be lying if he didn't admit that he had caught feelings for her hard. He was slowly becoming obsessed with her. She was becoming an obsession that he needed to live. He was in love.

"Hey, Satori?" (Name) began as she noticed how he was zoning out "Everything okay?"

"Ah! Yeah! Everything is good!" He slid his hand around (Name)'s as he began to lead her back to the dorms. He gave it a quick squeeze before pulling her a little closer. He began looking around before quickly planting a kiss on (Name)'s cheek. He would often go through bouts of insecurities, especially as (Name) grew as a person.

He hated being insecure, but he loved her so much. She gave a slight squeeze to his hand and leaned into him.

"Mikan-senpai has been tough on me recently. She wants me to come to her college practice and observe." Satori couldn't properly identify the emotion, but it was negative. "I'm scared to go on a college campus, can you come with me?"

Satori perked up as the question processed.

"Of course! Anything for my sweet manager!" He began to bounce and take (Name)'s hand with him. (Name) began to laugh and skip with him like a pair of idiots. He loved how quickly his worries passed. He was unaware of the increasing messages that were building in (Name)'s inbox. She was also blissfully unaware of the impending avalanche, but she was so desperate for Satori's attention that she continued to ignore her phone.

"Oh crap, I forgot!" Satori halted their skipping along. "Hey, um, I have to plan stuff with the guys..." Satori admits as he holds (Name)'s shoulders. "Can... can we meet up later tonight?" (Name) smiled and did something brave. Without looking around, (Name) leaned in and pushed her lips against his. She had to stand on her toes and lean him down some just so she could reach, but she pursued the affection regardless. Her eyes were closed gently as her hands gently slid on his shoulders. Satori's hand wrapped around her waist. Once she removed her lips from his, she looked up into his reddish eyes and smiled.

Semi, Soekawa, Yamagata, and Ohira were all gathered in the half-vacant dorm. Semi was showing off a new iPad that he had gotten as a gift from his parents. They were going through all the new features and playing videos on the device.

"Yeah and it's hooked up to my phone too, so when I get a message it pops up at th-" just then, the door bursts open, revealing a struggling (Name), Kenjiro, and Taichi. The trio was dragging along a floppy Satori. His face was almost as red as his hair, and his expression was blissful.

"SATORI IS UNRESPONSIVE!" (Name) was tearing up as Taichi and Kenjiro let out a frustrated sigh. They had dragged the 6'1" middle blocker up several flights of stairs, knocked on several doors, and with each silence from the other side (Name) got more and more anxious. It didn't help that Kenjiro threatened to drop him down the stairs 4 times.

'I can't believe I'm doing this for her, I can't believe I'm doing this for her, I can't believe I'm doing this for her' Kenjiro thought over and over as Taichi let out another sigh. He loved (Name) with all his heart, but sometimes it was difficult. Sibling love was never easy.

"What happened?!" Soekawa rushed over due to inexperience. Semi, Yamagata, and Ohira all stayed put with unamused looks. They've seen this before, and one time resulted with a big red mark on Satori's forehead.

"Oh, It happened again?" Semi barely looked up from his iPad. Ohira sighs as he once again is deemed the responsible one and gets up to retrieve his fellow second-year. (Name)'s sniffling was quelled slightly by Yamagata. Soekawa looked on in confusion.

"Again?"

"Oh yeah, this happens from time to time when he has a (Name) overload. The first incident was the end of last year." Semi continued to explore his new device. Kenjiro huffed.

"Just take him already, he's heavy." Leon takes the blushing boy from (Name)'s care and drags him to the couch. Yamagata pats a sniffling (Name)'s head.

"We'll take it from here, guys." Kenjiro and Taichi nod as they lead (Name) to their dorm.

"Oh! I almost forgot," (Name) suddenly whipped around and took a sickeningly sweet looking magazine from her bag. "My roommate says this is for you, Ohira-senpai?" (Name) handed over the booklet as Ohira bit his lip. He had a conversation in passing with (Name)'s roommate about fashion and the second-year couple problem. The panda eyed girl expressed as enthusiastically as she could that she had a few magazines on the subject, but he never expected that she would put it together this quick. "She says to return it whenever?"

"Ah... thanks..."

"She also said that any time you want to try on new clothes she'd be happy to-"

"Goodbye (Name)-chan!" Ohira quickly scuttled into his dorm and shut the door. The second-years began to jeer at him.

(Name) sighed as she began to follow the other two first-years to the elevators.

"I swear to god (Name), next time incapacitate him closer to the other second-years." Kenjiro huffed as he hastily pushed the button to call the elevator.

"Thanks, big bro" (Name) smiles as the elevator door opens. Kenjiro freezes as Taichi and (Name) enter the elevator

Big brother... seemed right.

But he wasn't about to let her know he liked the title.

"Uh, Kenjiro?" Taichi lazily states. He snaps out of his daze and notices the door to the elevator closing.

"Whu, WAIT, HEY!"

"Bye big bro!" (Name) says playfully as the elevator closes

"(NAAAAME)!!"

After (Name) was dropped off at her dorm by Taichi, she scuttled into her room and flopped onto her bed. She finally decided to check her phone for the first time that day and discovered her inbox was full. She furrowed her brow and began swiping at the screen to unlock it. Her stomach turned as she saw the red round circle at the top right corner of her messaging app, indicating that she had some unread messages. This usually wouldn't cause her to panic, but it was the number that presented itself in the center of the circle that troubled her. 58 new messages. 3 missed calls. All from the same person.

 **7:23 pm** **** **(Name):** I was at practice, sorry I didn't reply...

(Name) set her phone down for less than a second before it indicated that the person who she had just messaged replied. She lifted her screen and tapped away again to reveal the text.

 **7:23 pm** **** **Itsuki:** I was just worried is all, you aren't that strong you know, anything could happen to you.

(Name)'s stomach churned as she thought about what Itsuki just mentioned in her messages. The words of Mikan echoes in her ears as she remembered how she would never be like (S/Name), and she gazed down at her delicate hand. She had no strength like she did.

 **7:24 pm** **Itsuki:** But don't worry, I'll forever protect you. You're precious to me after all, and I spend years doing it.

 **7:25 pm** **(Name):** haha, right, yeah, sorry, thanks.

 **7:25 pm** **** **Itsuki:** So are you done for tonight?

 **7:26 pm** **(Name):** Actually I was going to meet up with Satori a little later tonight,

There was a heavy feeling of dread that emitted through her phone. She saw the read receipt pop up almost immediately after the message sent, but Itsuki was not typing. She was on the edge of her seat as she bit her lip. Was it wrong to bring up Satori? Did it make him upset? She liked Satori, and her feelings for him grew each day, but Itsuki placed a sliver of doubt in her mind. A subtle vibrate finally shook off the frost from her blood as she looked at the new message.

 **7:30 pm** **** **Itsuki:** Oh, Right, how are things going with him?

(Name) let out a sigh of relief and a smile. He wasn't angry. He wasn't jealous! She began to hastily type all about how she and Satori have been.

 **7:30 pm** **** **(Name):** Things are going well! We've been hanging out a lot and he's really supportive

 **7:31 pm** **** **(Name):** He's really funny too, and caring! I would have never guessed that from when we first met him, but he's gentle!

 **7:31 pm** **Itsuki:** So have you 2 officially gone out on your date?

 **7:32 pm** **(Name):** Oh, um well, not yet, we've been so busy helping (S/Name)-senpai that it kinda slipped all our minds,

 **7:33 pm** **** **Itsuki:** lol well make sure he doesn't get too frisky with you. Who knows what'll happen if he finally gets what all guys want

 **7:33 pm** **(Name)** **:** ?

 **7:34 pm** **** **Itsuki:** Ah but don't worry yourself too much (Name), I was worried when he only wanted to date you based on how cute you were, so I thought he only wanted a cute girl by his side, but who knows. I'm just looking out for you is all!

(Name) took a deep breath as she stared at her phone for a little bit. What all boys want... what was he talking about? He couldn't possibly mean... THAT, right? Satori would never! Would he? (Name) took another breath as she looked at her phone again.

It was the tiniest of seeds, but Itsuki knew what he was planting. He needed her, and he deserved her. The soil of her soul might not be fertile for such a dastardly weed, but with his nurturing, it should poison her affections for his guess monster rival.

As he saw (Name) began to casually text back, he smiled with victory. His manipulatory garden was just beginning.


	19. Doubt

_"... Hey, why are you playing by yourself? That's no fun"_

_"Huh? You're talking to me?"_

_"Of course silly! What's your name?"_

_"... Satori..."_

_"Satori? That's cool!"_

_"... really? Most people don't like it that much..."_

_"Then they're dumb!"_

_"Hey! You'll get in trouble if grown-ups hear you say that,"_

_"Then you won't tell, right? I'll only get in trouble if you tell,"_

_"Ah... I guess..."_

_"Hey! Let's play! We should play together! Are you playing with that volleyball?"_

_"Y-yeah,"_

_"Then let's play together! You have partners in volleyball you know!"_

_"Hey... what's your name?"_

_"Who me? I'm..."_

Memories of the past dissipated like fog from Satori's head as he awoke. It had been a while since he's had a dream like that. One containing memories of the past. One where he saw his face again. It was slightly blurred, and he couldn't remember every exact detail, but it had to be him.

Satori stretched and grunted as he loosened up for the coming day. He felt a joint in his back pop as he stretched, and upon the pop, he released his tension. He slowly dragged himself out of his room and into his and Semi's common area.

"Morning," The unfashionable boy greeted. "How'd you sleep?"

"Slept okay, why are you so chipper?" Satori questioned as he noticed the absence of a certain smell. He looked towards the counter and saw both his and Semi's morning cups still in the kitchenette cabinets.

"I slept in too late to make the tea, sorry." Semi sweated as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Aw man, that tea was great for waking me up! It didn't taste like nasty leaf water either!" Satori whined. Semi shrugged as he began lacing up his running shoes.

"Sorry man, there's always cafeteria instant coffee," Satori stuck his tongue out in disgust. "I know, your favorite," Semi replied with sarcasm. "Why are you even up this early anyway? We don't have practice today,"

"I'm going with (Name) to a college... game... thing that her teacher wants her to go to."

"Her teacher?" Semi replied with a raised brow.

"I don't know her, but apparently she's going to draw out (Name)'s "true potential" or whatever," Satori added air quotes to his sentence to add emphasis. "I don't know though, but I guess if (Name) trusts it,"

"You are surprisingly more protective of her than I thought you would be." Semi began to stretch slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"To be honest I thought you were just finding her cute, but you're getting in deep, man" Semi smiled slyly as he found an opportunity to tease his roommate.

"So what?" Satori huffed slightly "She's becoming more important to me, does that mean I'm deep?"

"Deeper than the ocean, man!" Semi opened the door to find (Name) just before she was about to knock. She held two styrofoam cups in her hands.

"Oh, Semi-senpai, hello!" (Name) smiled brightly as she peered around him "Is Satori awake?"

"He is, he just woke up."

"Morning (Name)!" Satori called out to his lover. He felt energized just by looking at her. The way her hair moved around as she walked was a sight for sore eyes to Satori, and the dual cups got his hopes up.

"I brought you some tea, I hope that's okay..." She whispers meekly, but Satori was over the moon.

"Of course! Thanks! I actually really appreciate it!" Satori pushed his way past his roommate and acquired a cup from the rabbit. Her smile already caused some of the leftover sleep to fade from his eyes, but the tea she provided was the perfect boost he needed. Semi chuckled before walking past the middle blocker.

"Right, I'll see you guys later," (name) peeked her head around and noticed Semi in a jogging uniform. She was quick to infer that he might naturally be an early riser and is going to use the time off to train.

"So! Should we get moving?" Satori chimed after taking a long sip of the steaming beverage in his hands. (Name) turned and nodded. Today would be interesting.

After a while on the train, they had finally arrived at their destination. The campus of the university wasn't modest, but it wasn't dazzling either. Nothing was imposing or frightening, and yet (Name) was shaking. Satori couldn't put his finger in why his beloved rabbit was so jittery, and he began to wonder if she was sensitive to caffeine. Her twitching only got worse as they approached a gym. The familiar smacking of volleyballs could be heard bouncing off the walls inside, and the squeaking of shoes wasn't far behind. (Name) shakily put her hand up to the door handle and gripped it slightly.

"R-Right, Mikan-senpai said to meet her in here..." Her voice was pitifully cute. "Here we go...." She slowly opened the door, revealing a very pissed looking lanky woman.

"Took you long enough to open that door!" (Name) was quick to screech and jump backward, being caught by her companion. "Man, you ruin my plans in the worst ways sometimes..." Mikan sighed as she ran a hand through her bangs, showing her scar fully.

"W-What plans!?" (Name) quickly bit back, and Mikan began to hum and whistle suspiciously.

"Mikchan, were you being dramatic again?" a voice from the court called.

"She's the master of it,"

"Yeah, if you bet on if Mikchan is being dramatic, you're gonna win that bet 9 times out of 10." Mikan began to fume before swiftly turning around.

"SHUT UP! GET BACK TO SERVING! BEFORE I ADD 300 SERVES!" Her cheeks were puffed up and her arms were flailing. The boys only laughed at her before agreeing to focus on their plays once more. Satori was highly amused by the woman and began to feel silly for all the times he ever felt jealous of her getting attention from (Name).

"So this is your teacher...?" Satori gave (Name) a sly smile. She nodded solemnly.

"She has her moments."

"Don't just stand out there! Come in! Time for you to start your training." Satori winced after getting yelled at and followed his beloved rabbit. He turned his attention to the slightly more muscular boys all scurrying around the court as they did serves and receives. Each boy called out and complemented each bump and spike, creating a comfortable environment, and inspired growth.

"Mikchan? Who are they?" a blond soon emerged from spiking practice and looked over his manager's guests. His face was sweet and friendly and invited others to talk to him. regardless, (Name) jumped slightly, and Satori gently patted her back.

"This is (L/Name) (Name), my student. And I think the kid with the red hair is her boyfriend."

"TH-THAT!" (Name) began to sputter, causing Satori to laugh and smile

"Yup! I'm the boyfriend!" (Name) could have melted on the spot. She still needed to work out the official term with him, and she didn't know if she was ready for 'boyfriend.' Today was a very 0% day.

"Ah, well whatever. Let's get started, bunny." Mikan began by bringing the little manager to the sidelines, handing her several charts that Mikan had prepared the day before. Satori could only watch as the one he came to support learned from what he could only describe as a master. She knew her way around reading charts and understanding the game, and it showed. Her way of teaching was intimidating at first, but (Name) soon got the handle of it. Her confidence was growing, and so was her beauty. Her smile lit up as she got analysis questions right, and her eyes glowed with pride.

Was he really worthy of her shadow?


	20. Proclimation

(Name) sat in her room as she texted Itsuki. He was rather excited to see her again in Tokyo, but (Name)'s memory of the last time she was there shadowed her excitement.

 **8:14 pm** **Itsuki:** sounds like you had quite the day! I'm proud of you for taking responsibility like that

 **8:15 pm** **(Name):** yeah, it was kinda scary though, but I know I can do it... I think

 **8:15 pm** **Itsuki:** I think you'll be fine. You're a very smart girl you know, and you have a bright future ahead of you. If you make the right decisions now, you'll be set for life.

(Name) paused. What did he mean 'right decisions'? Curiously she replied with quick fingers

 **8:16 pm** **(Name):** Right decisions?

The read receipt came up quickly, and three little dots began typing away. A nervous wave overtook (Name) suddenly as the message appeared on her screen.

 **8:17 pm** **Itsuki:** You've always been destined for something, but at the same time I feel like your path could use a little help at times, after all, you remember middle school, right?

Anxiety and doubt soon spring into her mind as memories of the past flooded everything. She didn't want to remember the past, it was painful. Another buzz only worried her further

 **8:18 pm** **Itsuki:** So many people were mean to you, and only I was willing to help. Hope nothing like that happens again, people change for no reason nowadays.

 **8:19 pm** **(Name):** But Taichi was there too, right?

Itsuki couldn't help but smile. The fact that she needed affirmation from him on a question so simple, his garden was growing. It was a simple sprout, but the blossom from it would be so beautiful. Simple thorns were so effective against the little rabbit.

 **8:20 pm** **Itsuki:** Did he really do anything? I think you're remembering incorrectly again, (Name). You were so good at remembering academics that it must have slipped out of your brain.

 **8:20 pm** **(Name):** Oh... okay...

(Name) sat there, rattling her brain as to what he could be talking about. She had on occasion miss remembered things, but had she been wrong this entire time? Maybe it was too long ago, maybe she had tried to forget it, but she was confused.

 **8:21 pm** **Itsuki:** Don't think about it too much, (Name)-chan, you might get a headache. I don't want you to hurt yourself.

Itsuki smiled as he received an affirmative text from (Name). His Briar patch slowly crept around the little rabbit's mind. His need for her grew with each text, but he needed to be patient. He wanted nothing more than to convince her to transfer and follow him, taking her all for himself. He craved to taste her lips just once, and he needed to feel her body against his. He dreamed about her. She was an obsession. Itsuki took a deep breath as he looked back to his phone, he needed to tend to his briar patch if his wicked briar rose was to bloom.

The next day, (Name) was drained. She didn't know why, but she felt more tired than usual. It was like someone had taken her energy directly from her. (S/Name) had noticed quickly, and after practice, sent her home to rest. Satori was just as concerned. Once he was done cleaning up, he rushed up to her room. Memories of (S/Name)'s first year and pushing herself too far filled his head, and he was worried that something similar would strike his precious little (Name).

His usual pace upstairs was doubled with the beat of his racing heart. He nearly tripped several times, as he was becoming more accustomed to his more lanky self.

Once he was on her floor, He frantically knocked on her door, but quickly stopped as to not seem too eager. Too eager? Since when was he worried about what others thought? Since when did it matter what people thought of him?

No, it wasn't what others thought, it was what she thought. It was all about (Name). He wanted to be perfect for her, and no one else. Self-doubt quickly filled his mind as the taunts and teases of old scars echoed in his ears. Each voice lamented his presence, even though they made themselves at home in his own mind. She was growing so beautifully, would he just screw it up?

Before he can answer his laments, the door opens and reveals a rather sleepy-looking senior.

"Oh. Satori-kun, it's you." The girl let out a yawn before stepping aside. "She's in her room, I think she's just laid down for a nap." Satori puts up his facade. Gently padding his way inside the feminine dorm.

"You could use one too, you know." Satori comments before opening (Name)'s door. All he got in response from her roommate was a yawn and a grumble before she goes back to her sewing machine.

Inside (Name)'s room, a small form could be seen curled up under the covers. Brilliant (E/C) eyes fluttered open before locking onto Satori's red ones. He was enamored and in love with the way she looked at him.

"Satori...?" She questioned groggily. His heartbeat faster with each step he took closer to her.

"Hey, how ya doing? Came to check up on you." He played it as cool as he could in front of her, downplaying his worry and concern.

"I'm okay, just really tired for some reason." Her gentle voice flowed through the room, trapping him there.

"Around this time last year (S/Name) got sick, you aren't allowed to be sick, okay?" Satori joked and smiled.

Maybe it was because she was tired, or maybe it was because she could feel his unease, but (Name) then did something rather brave. She extended her arms to the tall boy before her, beckoning him with her hands by grabbing the air.

"Cuddle me," Was all she made out in a whiny tone.

Satori nearly burst into flames.

The redhead did his best to hide his excitement, but she was too cute. Everything about her was too much. How did he have someone like her? Did he really deserve someone like her? Or was he just another piece of garbage in her perfect wake. And for once, he was hesitant. Hesitant to give her attention or affection. Hesitant that one touch from him will ruin everything. Conflict grew in his mind as (Name) continued to reach for him.

Before he can make a decision, he's grabbed by the much smaller (Name), and he can't resist anymore. He slipped under the covers with her, wrapping her up in his long arms. His doubts slipped away as she nuzzled into his chest, finding comfort in his warmth. She intertwined her legs with his, firmly entangling him to the spot.

"Warm..." (Name) whispers as she angles her face towards Satori's neck, not realizing the repercussions of the action. A shiver ran up Satori's spine as (Name) let an accidental breath caressed the sensitive skin. He couldn't hold back.

Satori turned his head so that his lips would be on (Name)'s. It was easy for him to quickly straddle her, holding her head in one of her hands while the other supported his weight above her. The kiss deepened as he felt a gentle hand over his. (Name) gripped his hand as his tongue slid into her mouth, exploring a new territory he had never been in before. A territory no one had explored. He was the first.

Contamination. Tainting her innocent breath.

He pulled away before going any further. How did this happen? How did he let it get this far?

"Satori..." Satori opened his eyes, meeting (Name)'s loving gaze. She gave him a shy smile before finally speaking her thoughts.

**"I love you."**


	21. Fear

_"I love you"_

Isn't this what he wanted? Isn't this the miracle he prayed for at the beginning of the year? Wasn't this what he fought for?

So why did it scare him? Why did this feeling frighten him? Why did this whole situation seem too good to be true?

Satori sat in his room as Semi pounded on his door.

"Satori?!" His shouts were muffled by the cheap wood "Satori, open up! What the hell was that all about?! Dude!"

As Semi was calling to him, the door to the shared dorm flung open, revealing a furious first-year middle blocker, followed by both Yamagata and Kenshiro. They were desperately hanging onto Taichi's arms, holding him back. Semi's eyes widen at the scene, and he frantically began pounding again.

"Dude! Now would be a good time to start talking!!"

"He can talk AFTER I beat him!" Taichi proclaimed as he continued to drag the libero and Kenjiro. "You BASTARD! You promised you wouldn't make her cry!" Kenjiro wasn't quite as strong as Yamagata, causing his grip on his roommate to slip. He did his best to recapture Taichi, but once the door to Satori's room began to open, Taichi easily overpowered the setter. Once he no longer had help from Kenjiro, Yamagata had absolutely no grip on the much taller boy.

As the door slowly opened, Taichi charged at the boy operating the door. Satori's eyes were puffy and red, and it was very noticeable to everyone in the room.

Everyone except for an enraged Taichi.

Before a word could be uttered, Taichi sucker-punches his fellow middle blocker, knocking his senior backward. It wasn't until he was on the ground that Taichi finally noticed the state Satori was in. Panicked, scared, confused.

"Kawanishi Taichi!" A feminine voice calls from the entranceway, and (S/Name) rushes to the downed Satori, checking to see if he was alright. After letting all his overflowing anger out in one blow, Taichi backed off. A scowl still lined his face as he stared down Satori. Semi placed himself between the first year and his roommate, making sure another charge wouldn't happen. Ushijima briskly made his way into the room as well and grabbed one of Taichi's shoulders.

"It's alright... I deserved it." Satori mutters as he lay on the floor. (S/Name) sighs before shaking her head.

"What the hell is going on? I got a text saying Taichi was going to kill you! Explain yourself!" Satori was silent for a minute before Kenjiro speaks up.

"What else. Drama. (Name) is in our room sobbing her eyes out." (S/Name) whipped her head around

"What?!" This wasn't like Satori. Something was majorly wrong. "Satori, what is going on?!"

"I don't know." His answer was simple and drained of emotion. He stared at the ceiling as the energy in the room drained. Semi looked back at Taichi, and once he was certain the boy wouldn't charge again, he accompanied (S/Name) on the floor with Satori.

"What's up, buddy?" Taichi huffed before finally revealing the reason he was angry.

"(Name) said she loved him. And he ran."

"DUDE!" Semi's comforting voice shifted quickly. Yamagata winced in the doorway as Kenjiro pinched the bridge of his nose. Ushijima's eyes were wide. He had messed up in the past, but never this bad.

"I don't know!" Satori sat up and placed his face in his hands. "I... I got all scared! Like.." Satori began making motions with his hands, but Taichi had finally had enough.

"Look, I don't care what the reasoning is right now, but until you figure out what the hell is going on up there, stay the hell away from (Name)." Taichi stormed out, followed by a far from pleased Kenjiro.

(S/Name) sighed at the boys, but let them go. They only had (Name) in mind.

"Satori, this isn't like you at all." (S/Name) comforted. She beckoned for her boyfriend and Yamagata to come in.

"I don't know... Recently I've been having these thoughts. What if..." Satori sighed before shaking his head.

"No, come on, spit it out." Semi pushed. He and Satori might have had a bantering relationship, but it didn't change the fact that Satori was close to him. He wanted to help. Satori could sense this eagerness, and a voice in the back of his mind soon beckoned to him again.

_'unworthy'_

Satori took a deep breath before forcing a smile on his face.

"Don't worry about it too much! We have nationals coming up! Gotta worry about that more!" Satori jumps up off the floor before walking towards the door and rubbing his cheek. "Man, Taichi can pack a punch! I'm gonna go practice on my own for a bit, I'll be back later, Eita." Satori's smile held out long enough for him to make his way out of the dorms. He ignored the calls from his teammates and friends, opting to head towards the gym instead.

The following week was a lonely one for (Name). She had gotten so used to Satori checking in on her every day, walking her to classes, eating lunch with her, laughing, joking, reading manga, her day was empty without him. She had no idea why he had suddenly withdrawn. (Name) was laying in Taichi's bed as she sat depressed. The information she had gathered on the other teams lay in the kitchenette. The door to Taichi's room slowly opened to reveal a slightly salty Kenjiro. (Name) glanced up slightly before closing her eyes again.

"Hey." He starts before creeping into Taichi's room and (Name)'s makeshift burrow.

"Hey..." (Name)'s voice was low and fatigued, sounding just as ragged as she looked. The poor girl was heartbroken. Kenjiro sighed before sitting on the edge of the bed. He raised a hand, gently making its way towards (Name)'s head. He hesitated, but finally made his mind up and intertwined his fingers gently with her hair. He mimicked (S/Name)'s technique as he comforted his teammate.

"We leave for Nationals tomorrow. How are you doing?" Kenjiro asked. (Name) looked at him with an air of confusion, causing Kenjiro to fluster. "I'm only asking because it would be a pain for you to be like this tomorrow, got it?" Kenjiro lied. His concern shone through brilliantly.

"I should be..." (Name) whispers as she curls up even further. Kenjiro sighed as he looked over at the mourning girl.

"You know, if this had happened earlier in the year, I would have said you're a goner." (Name) glares slightly up at Kenjiro. "But not anymore. If there's anything I've learned about you, (Name), is that you're always growing. Always learning and always improving. You're no longer the weakling I knew." (Name) gapes at Kenjiro's kind words. He was actively trying to comfort her, and it was working. She was surprised that he even cared at all.

"Kenjiro-kun..." (Name) whispered before giving him a smile.

"And I don't know what's going on with Tendou-Senpai. For one thing, I'm absolutely certain he has feelings for you still." Kenjiro adds. (Name) looks back down before curling up again.

"Can... Can I tell you a secret? You aren't allowed to tell Taichi." Kenjiro became curious, nodding to keep his promise. "When I told Satori I loved him... it was right after we um..." (Name) pulled up Taichi's sheets to her nose, hiding the embarrassment and blush. "Made... out..." Her face began to steam some after she admitted it. "Do you think... do you think he only wanted one thing?"

Kenjiro's face warped with questions and confusion. "What one thing?"

(Name) whined some "D-Don't make me say it!" She pulled the covers over her head, concealing her flustered face.

"Where did you hear something like that? And what makes you think Tendou-senpai would be like that?"

(Name) pulled the covers down slightly to reveal her eyes. She looked away, seeming ashamed of what she was about to say.

"Itsuki contacted me recently through a new number. He said to be careful because men only want one thing. He wanted to help me." Kenjiro bit his lip. The name was rather familiar to him. He had heard how the boy named Itsuki had acted the last time they went to nationals. He had heard about the boy's obsession with (Name), and he had heard about his disdain for Satori. Something smells fishy, and he was now on the case.

"As I said, I think Tendou-senpai cares for you deeply, but something is getting to him right now. You both have weak hearts when it comes to this kind of stuff. Leads to too much drama." (Name) pouted at Kenjiro, eliciting a laugh. "Oh quit it, you know it's true." Kenjiro patted (Name)'s head once again before sliding off the edge of the bed and places his feet on the floor. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I'll help you out this one time." (Name)'s head pops up and watches Kenjiro with wide, shimmering eyes. "But you owe me a favor, got it? It'll be just you and me too, Kawanishi's still fuming at that guy." (Name) nods before watching Kenjiro leave the small room. "Good. We'll start looking into the matter during nationals."

(Name) smiles at the boy that used to scare her so badly now bending over backward to help her.

"Thank you..." She whispers, causing Kenjiro to freeze.

"... don't thank me yet. There's still a lot to do." with the final remark, Kenjiro leaves (Name) alone. 


	22. Killua to your Gon

" _He loves me, he loves me not" the gentle singing of a small girl radiates through a field of daisies. "My prince, My prince, he loves me, he loves me not," her (H/C) hair tied up into a cutesy pair of pigtails. "He loves me, He loves me not." her gentle (E/C) eyes excitedly watched with each petal she pulled, awaiting the answer to sing song query. "He loves me, he loves me not!"_

_Not far from her, a boy with a red bowl cut watches her with wide eyes. What was he doing here? How did he get here?_

_"He loves me, he loves me not." her voice, so familiar. His heart began to ache. "He loves me, he loves me not..." Her voice comes to a hush as she looks down at the bald flower. "He..."_

_The boy looked down at his hands with guilt and pain. He wanted to help her somehow. He wanted to protect her and take away all her pain, but something was keeping him from moving. Brambles past, clung to his shins, keeping him from moving._

_He finally noticed, however, in his hand was a single daisy petal._

_"I love her..." but he still couldn't move. "I love her..." he began to shake, finally looking up at the girl in front of him once again, only to see a wolf. The wolf was of a gold color, and his eyes were dark brown. He recognized them from somewhere, but where?_

_"He doesn't love you." it snarled. Burrs stuck out of its fur. "He doesn't love you at all."_

_"I love her!" He cries out, but vines of the past quickly silenced him. He quickly clutched the last daisy petal to his chest. He knew he loved her. He loved her more than anyone else in his life._

_The wolf began to drool, and the girl was no longer a girl, but a small rabbit. She only trembled before the wolf's gaping maw._

_"He doesn't love you. I am love. I am the only one who loves you. Only me." saliva dripped off his teeth. He opened his jaw wide as he quickly snapped at the frozen rabbit. "Only me!"_

_"No!" the redheaded boy cried out, before being dragged back by the ivy of past traumas._

"Sa-chan!" A boy quickly vaults himself awake from his nightmare. He began to breathe heavily as he began to realize where he was. He was in his room in Tokyo. The boy he saw in his dream was a redhead he had known long ago. "Sa-chan..." the red lights of his alarm clock illuminated his chestnut hair slightly. He ran a hand upward, finding some clips he had forgotten to take out before going to bed. "What was that... that dream?" He began to recall bits and pieces. He remembers seeing the boy he had forged a friendship all those years ago. "What's with the ivy? He... he looked like he was in a lot of pain..." memories of the boy running after his car came flooding back to him. Memories of separation. He remembers the redhead tripping over ivy as he ran after the chestnut's parent's car.

"Ugh. I need to stop having weird shit before bed... maybe it's those vanilla milkshakes?" he gripped his hair as he looked over at his phone. An anime character similar to the one Satori had as his background was proudly illuminated. The white-haired boy on his screen held crackling electricity in his hands.

"The Gon to my Killua... or at least that's what we thought." He brought the phone to his face as he quickly scrolled through the social media of his mother. There he found what he was looking for. "Are you trying to call to me? If so, that's super anime of you, bro..." He let out a laugh "which is just like you... I'll humor you, Sa-chan." a picture of the boy with a red bowl cut next to a boy with messy chestnut hair popped up on his mother's feed. The post read:

**Satori-kun is such a sweet little boy, Mrs. Tendou did a good job with him! Look at this little munchkin! Inseparable from my Hiroto!**

****Hiroto smiled at the photo once more before scouring the social media platform. He had to be on here. He had to be on here. He had to be.

Finally he found what he was looking for. A social media page leading to more info.

**@Keep em guessing: early day tomorrow! Going all the way to Tokyo for nats! Myeeeehhhh don't want up early (=3=)**

****"Sa-chan you're freaking me out here! First you contact me through a dream, and now you're actually coming to Tokyo!?" Hiroto laughed at his screen before checking more details. "Who knows why you need me... but I think this is my chance at redemption... my chance to make up for leaving you..." Hiroto ran his hand through his hair again before finding another clip. He shook it out before setting a course for the morning.

"He plays volleyball. He has to. He loved blocking way too much to not be playing it." Hiroto continues his social media search. "Shiratorizawa... yikes. How did you get into such a pretentious school haha," Hiroto continues to scroll until he stops cold. "HUUUUH!?"

**@Keep em guessing: this has to be the cutest girl in the world! Look at her! Aah! She cried at the latest chapter at MHA. So cute.**

****"What!? How did you get a girlfriend!?" Hiroto slouched before pouting "man, when did you get so smooth with girls, Sa-chan, I thought we were in the forever alone club together..." Hiroto smiled before taking a closer look at the (H/C) girl. "Hummm we've always been awkward with girls, wonder if your cry for help has anything to do with her. I hope she's been taking care of you." he hits the power button on the side of his phone before placing it back on his nightstand. "It's settled, tomorrow, I'm gonna show you all my cool skateboarding tricks and cheer you up... from whatever. And if that doesn't work, I'm gonna help you anyway I can..." Hiroto stared at the ceiling before sighing. "I sound like a maniac... interfering with someone's life purely because of a dream? What kind of nut am I?"

Suddenly the boy's door swings open, and his face is assaulted with a pillow.

"Your a monologuing moron is what you are!" his baby sister huffed at the entrance of his doorway. She stomped her feet before slamming the door shut and leaving for her room.

"Sorry Mimi!" he sighed before falling back onto his bed. He'll settle for Monologuing moron for right now...

The next morning Hiroto lazily rolls out of bed and begins to clip back his bangs with his little sister's hair clips.

"Big brother is stealing my hairclips again!!" She cries down to her mother, but their mother only shook her head.

"Hiroto, if you want clips of your own, all you need to do is ask!" Hiroto shook his head as he quickly stuffed some bread in his mouth.

"I'm not gonna need them forever! Just until my next haircut!" he states, rushing down to the front door.

"You haven't gotten a haircut in over 4 months!" Mimi protests, but her brother is already out the door. "Hiroooooo!"

Hiro peered down at his phone as he held his skateboard under one of his arms. This was so stupid. This was crazy, why was he here? Would Satori even recognize him? It's been years. Now he's relying on a really weird dream to go and see him again? To get in contact with him?

"Man, what am I doing?"

"What are you doing, Taira-Senpai?" A masculine and familiar voice calls to him from behind. He whips around and he's greeted with an all too familiar head of blond hair. His brown eyes were cold like permafrost.

"Oh, Itsuki-kun, hey," He greets. "Just taking a little stroll!" Hiroto didn't like Itsuki, and he could never put his finger on why. He just got a feeling. A feeling that he chose to hide due to the fact that he was part of his friend's basketball team. Today was no different. He really didn't like Itsuki.

"A stroll? To the volleyball nationals?" Itsuki prodded. Whoop, he was caught. Hiroto sighed before taking another glance upwards.

"Yeah y'know, you just kinda find your way places. Happens from time to time." Itsuki bit the inside of his lip to keep him from sneering. Itsuki didn't like Hiroto. He was like a combination of Taichi and Satori, two people in the way of his very precious (Name). "But you said this was volleyball? What are you doing here? I thought you were a basketball idiot like Furihata."

"I am a basketball player! I'm just visiting someone here today!" Itsuki huffed slightly. Whiny brat.

"Oh. who are you visiting?" He decided to try and be amiable. Furihata would be proud of him.

"Her name is (Name)."

A chill suddenly ran up Hiroto's spine. Did he say who he think he said? Did he say the name of Sa-chan's girlfriend? Why would someone like Itsuki be visiting her?

"Oh! Is she a friend, relative?" Hiroto does his best to hide his growing concern. Lucky for him the basketball player's focus sharpened on only one thing when her name was mentioned.

There they were. There were those eyes again. Furihata despised the eyes when he saw them on the court, and Hiroto had heard about them many times before. Itsuki was emotionally focusing in. When he did this, he became a petty player, he became hard to handle and emotionally driven. 

"No, she's my girlfriend." Hiroto knew that was a lie. He began to wonder though if Itsuki knew it was a lie, or if he was stating a goal.

'Sa-chan... is this why you called out for help?' Hiroto sweat before glaring at Itsuki. 'Maaaan, of all the people Killua had to fight for Gon, I think I'd prefer them over Itsuki...'

".... why are you looking at me like that, Taira-senpai?" Itsuki asks with a cold tone, and Hiroto takes a deep breath.

"Time to employ the Jostar's secret family technique..." Hiroto says with a solemn tone.

"Wha-?" with a quick flick of his arm, Hiroto's skateboard is flung to the ground, and he jumps aboard, flying into the gym at full speed

"RUN AWWAAAAAAAAY!"

"Taira-senpai! You aren't allowed to ride skateboards in the gym!" Itsuki shouts after Hiroto, but he was already flying inside.

On his way in, a security guard spots the teen, and just as Itsuki warned, the security guard was not happy.

"Hey! Brat! No skateboarding!" he called out to him, but Hiroto gave a nervous wave back as he continued to speed on.

"SorryThisIsAboutDestinyAndTheFateOfAFriendAndLoveIKnowISoundLikeAWeebButIt'sTrue BYEEEE!!"

"Get back here! Off the skateboard!"

Hiroto easily weaved in and out of crowds, surprising volleyball teams one and alike. Some girls screamed as he whipped passed. Some screamed when the rather out of shape security guard chased right after him.

"Maaaaaaaan, it's been a while since I've gotten in this much trouble, mom and Mimi are gonna skin me alive!" Hiroto complained as he ground against a handrail out of habit. "Where the hell am I going to find Sa-chan though! This place is packed with volleyball people,"

Just as he contemplated where to go next, he wasn't paying attention to where he was hurtling towards.

"Look out! (S/Name)!" a voice called, causing Hiroto to snap his eyes wide open. In front of him was a beautiful girl in a royal purple tracksuit. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she held a half-filled water bottle.

"WhoAOAOOOA! CAN'T STOP!" Hiroto panicked as his skateboard was at full velocity, but he was suddenly jerked back by two large hands. His skateboard went flying around the girl, not even laying a scratch on her.

"Whoa! Nice save, Wakatoshi..." Hiroto finally got a glimpse of the voice. Flaming red hair stood up on end, and his eyes were lazily closed, but he knew them to be blazing ruby.

"Sa-chan! I found you! I've been-" Just as Hiroto was about to finish his sentence, he finally looked at the person who caught him. Dark brown eyes were filled with fury and murderous intent, and he finally felt the grip the boy had on him. He was a giant compared to Hiroto. He paled when he realized his feet weren't even touching the ground. The hostile boy was lifting him off the ground like he was just a few grapes in his hands. "Muh... Muh..." Hiroto began. "MONSTER DON'T HURT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"


	23. Letting Go

Shirabu grimaced at the rather excited Satori bounded through the gym. He wasn't allowed anywhere near (Name) still, but he seemed... energized. (Name) watched from afar with a relieved look. It was strange. Just him being happy alone was enough. She missed him, she missed him like nothing she had ever felt before, but he was happy again. She was curious as to what has Satori's mood boosted.

"Oh, (Name)," (S/Name) soon strides up to her. "You have a friend you can talk to up in the stands today." (S/Name)'s face gave away no clue as to what she meant, but it seemed harmless enough.

"A friend?" Taichi's overprotectiveness flared up. He's worried about Itsuki, someone he knows hangs around Tokyo.

"Yeah, apparently one of Satori's old friends came out to watch, he's a sweetheart." (S/Name) quelled the concerned Taichi. He wasn't happy about the name that went along with the friend, but he had to admit, it was hard to stay mad at him. Not even (Name) was mad at him anymore, but he didn't want her to get hurt again. If he could just shield her from the horrors of the world, he would.

Sometimes, though, he wondered how much he could shield her before he had to let go.

He's brought out of his thoughts by Shirabu swiftly slapping his back. He almost gets the wind knocked out of him by his roommate, but it was just what he needed to get him focused.

"Come on, don't get distracted now." He states, and (Name) can't help but let out a small giggle. Taichi smiled before shoving Shirabu.

(Name) made her way to the stands, finding someone she's never seen before staring down at the court and clinging onto the handrail. His bangs were pushed back with multiple clips, some (Name) recognized as some she owned back at home.

He notices (Name), and gives a quick wave.

"Ahhhh, so you're Sa-chan's girlfriend!" the first thing he says to her, and she's already blushing. "Oh! Are you two not official... whoops." He scratches the back of his head before (Name) shakes her hands and her head.

"No it's okay," She wanted to be official. "Um... so you're Satori's friend..." She'd never heard of him before.

"Oh yeah! The name's Taira Hiroto! You're important to Sa-chan, so call me Hiroto!" (Name) nods.

"I'm um... (L/Name) (Name)," Ah, no wonder Satori fell for her, he always did have a thing for the shy girls in anime.

"Nice to meet you! Thanks for taking care of Sa-chan while I was away... for years..." he began to play with a clip in his hair,

"Take... care of him?" (Name) soon joined him by the railing.

"Have you ever seen Hunter x Hunter?" (Name)'s attention is piqued. Her eyes light up as Hiroto mentions the popular anime.

"1999 or 2011"

"Oh god, you're perfect for Sa-chan" Hiroto laughed before looking down at the court again, "When we were kids, we watched the 1999 series together. I've seen the 2011 remake but it's not the same without a bestie to watch it with..." Hiroto snaps from his tangent "Oh right, but my point, Sa-chan is like Gon. Naive, full of energy, doesn't help that his hair looks like that," Hiroto laughs, "but, a long time ago, I called him the Gon to my Killua." (Name) immediately got the reference. Killua and Gon. one was hyper, naive, and childish while the other was cool, protective... and childish. "So I always wanted to protect him, but it wasn't always that way. He has trouble with becoming the butt of a lot of jokes. Before I became his friend, he had trouble making any at all. Always doubting himself." (Name) watched as a spike was denied from crossing the net, a usually excited Satori was absent from the cries of victory. He gave a quick peace sign to his excited teammates, and it takes a slap on the back from Ushijima to spark any sort of reaction beyond that.

"He isn't... confident in himself?" (Name) begins to analyze the spike that had come over. Just like she had predicted, the other team was heavy on their setter, making easy fodder for Satori.

"Confident? No, never. He used to say sorry all the time when we were kids, apologizing for the smallest of things, expecting me to leave."

"Eh?!" (Name) looked at him in disbelief.

"I probably shouldn't be saying all this stuff," Hiroto was about to shut up about Satori's past, but it wasn't something (Name) was about to let go easily.

(Name) smacks her hand down on the railing, causing Hiroto to jump.

"No! Tell me more!" (Name)'s confidence was wavering, but she needed to know more. "I... things aren't as peachy keen with Satori, He's been..." (Name) looked back at Satori, who had just been switched out for Taichi.

"Distant?" Hiroto finished (Name)'s thoughts. "Oof, it's happening again." Hiroto looks down at a solemn Satori. Next to him Semi tried to get him riled up and be his hyperactive self, but Satori only gave a small reaction.

"Again..." (Name) furrowed her brow.

"His imposter syndrome." Hiroto looks down at Satori again. "Or at least that's what I think it is, along with trauma." Hiroto looked over at a very concerned (Name). She had heard of the name 'Imposter syndrome' before but didn't know that someone so close to her could potentially have it. "Satori has a lot of trauma from when we were younger. Kids weren't nice, and they made him feel like he was flawed. a fluke. They told him he's a monster, unworthy." (Name) was horrified, but she felt something else. She felt her blood begin to boil over the people of the past. She felt something in her light.

"Un...worthy..."

"It took him a long time to actually become goofy around me, and there was a point where he all the sudden just stopped talking to me. It took his mom to drag him out of his room to come talk to me." Hiroto smiled at the memory of a furious red-headed Mrs.Tendou dragging Satori out by his pants.

"So he... ran away..." (Name) begins to have deja vu.

"There's a lot of complex psychological science behind it, but Satori really needs someone who assures he isn't a burden, let him know he's allowed to love. Someone could easily gaslight him in this state, though..." (Name) tilted her head

"Gaslight?" Hiroto raises his brows at (Name).

"You don't know what that is?" Hiroto took it upon himself to educate anyone who would listen about the many emotional subjects he took time studying. When he was younger with Satori, he had many questions as to why Satori would act a certain way and hit the books. "Gaslighting is emotional and psychological manipulation to the point where the victim questions their own sanity. It's often used in a way to manipulate a person into situations reason would not. People who gaslight will work to isolate, tell their victim they're remembering things wrong, cast doubt on other people who would help them, and tell their victims that their emotions are wrong." (Name)'s face pales. That sounds too familiar. "Eh? (Name)-chan? You okay?"

"Do you know..." (Name) slid her hand into her pocket and gripped her phone. "Do you know what it looks like?" Hiroto narrowed his eyes before nodding.

"Yeah... (Name)-chan, is everything okay?"

(Name) takes out her phone and brings up a certain someone's message history,

"I don't know... but I'm not stupid." She states before handing over the phone. Hiroto's eyes widen as he reads the name at the top of the screen.

Itsuki.

After the game, Satori went searching for his old friend. He expected him to be just outside the gym, but Hiroto wasn't there. Satori shrugged it off and recalled the boy's habits, so he went to the restroom to see if he was there. As he turned to head over, however, he was met with a pair of eyes that chilled him to the bone.

Brown and cold like permafrost, the bright lights of the gym bounced off his pyrite colored hair.

"Oh." he started. "It's you" the grit in his voice was unmistakable. Itsuki was standing right in front of the red-head, glaring him down.

Something was very wrong. Satori knew Taichi would never allow the boy near (Name) after what he did during the last nationals, so what is he doing here now?

A sudden urge to protect (Name) filled him, but he felt conflicted. Should he really be protecting her? Is he worthy?

"What are you doing here?" He didn't know if he was worthy, but she was important enough to protect.

He didn't expect Itsuki to smile.

"(Name) asked me to be here. What, you didn't know?" Satori's eyes widened at the boy who was barely a year younger than him. "She told me someone was a bastard and did horrible things to her. Someone was a monster." Satori furrowed his brow before he looked down. He was talking about him. That word was almost a pseudonym for him at this point. Monster. "How could someone do the things you did is beyond me. She's such a sweet girl,"

"She is..." Satori backed up slightly. More and more guilt filled his head. Unworthy. He's unworthy.

"Sa-chan!" Hiroto's voice called out, but he soon winced after that. Crap, it was the Itsuki he thought it was. Behind Hiroto is (Name), and her face was unreadable.

"Taira-senpai?" Itsuki tilted his head "What are you doing with (Name)? How do you know Tendou-Senpai?" He began walking over to (Name), and made his way past Hiroto when he tried to put himself between Itsuki and (Name). Satori was about to walk away when he heard something unexpected.

The sharp sound of skin against skin permeated in the stadium. Hiroto's face was wide with an open mouth smile.

(Name) shook as the sting of smacking Itsuki lingered on her hand. She was furious. She had trusted him, she had spent so much time with him, and this is how he acts? This is how he treats her? With no respect for her feelings or regard for who she is as an individual.

"Yeah! Get him (Name)!" Hiroto whispered, causing Satori to raise a brow at him. Before Satori can sneak off, Hiroto grabs his wrist, much like his mother did all those years ago.

"You..." (Name) began. "How dare you!" rage-filled her voice as she focused in on Itsuki. "How DARE you try and manipulate me! How dare you be so cowardly as to try lie and diminish my feelings!" with every point she makes, Itsuki takes another step back. "I... I never want to see you again!"

"(Name), you're overreacting," Itsuki tried to convince her.

"I think she's justified!" Hiroto jumped in, earning a glare from Itsuki. "You're doing great (Name), don't let him guilt you,"

"You really have no place in this, Taira-senpai," Itsuki's words turn to ice, and a glare like a dagger is shot his way. Hiroto shuttered but tries to stay firm for the raging (Name).

"If you were innocent, you wouldn't have to defend yourself from me and Hiroto-kun!"

"How do you know Taira-senpai?"

"That doesn't matter Itsuki, what does matter are your actions!" (Name) fumed again. "And now you're here trying to make Satori feel like crap because you're jealous of him! You still aren't seeing me as a free person!" (Name) stomped her feet. Hiroto swore he's seen angry rabbits do the exact same thing. "You're manipulating, petty, childish!" with each point she makes, she stomps her foot down. "And, I think I'm done."

"That's good, we can then get over this outburst and-"   
"No, Itsuki, I'm done with this. I wanted to continue being friends because I was holding onto something in the past," (Name) admits, "I was holding onto a fear, nostalgia, something that just isn't there anymore. I'm growing, changing, and you..." She sighed before holding back tears of mixed emotions. "And you're only looking out for yourself, toppling over anyone who gets in your way,"

"I topple over anyone who gets in my way of you, (Name)," Itsuki finally broke. "You don't get it. I've spent all of these years with you, and now you decide I'm not good enough? I'm the problem?!" Itsuki grabbed ahold of (Name)'s arms roughly. Hiroto had no idea the confrontation would escalate so far. "I've spent years protecting you!"

"Hey, basketball dumbass." a voice calls. "Think you've had enough fun for today." the group looks over to see a rather peeved and impatient Shirabu.

"Shirabu!"

"Shirabu-kun?" Satori whispered.

"I have no idea who he is, but I'm gonna guess he's a good guy..." Hiroto sweated. Itsuki groaned at yet another person getting in the way.

"Look, this is something between me and (Name),"

"This is something that causes me to have a headache." Shirabu walked over to Itsuki. He was far shorter than the basketball player, but his intimidation was Napoleonic.

"Shirabu-kun..." (Name) whined in a low voice, causing Shirabu to sigh yet again.

"You're probably hurting her, let go." as Shirabu reached out to release (Name) from Itsuki's grasp, but he violently smacks Shirabu's hand away.

Hiroto jumped. He now knew why he disliked the boy. He's now seen why the boy always triggered something inside him. He had been slowly and subconsciously accumulating all the signs of a narcissistic, emotional, violent boy who used any underhand tactic to get what he wanted. This is the boy that scared him.

This boy didn't scare Shirabu. He raised his brow at Itsuki, then clicked his tongue. It pissed Itsuki off to no end.

"Hey, you, hair clip guy." Shirabu called Hiroto, causing him to jump. "You have a strong grip on Tendou-senpai, so I guess you can come back to the hotel," Shirabu made a motion for (Name). "Come on, we're leaving."

"We aren't done talking yet, but you're free to leave." Itsuki growled at Shirabu. Only pausing to blink, Shirabu whipped back around.

"I think you're done. She said she's through with you. You're acting like a brat. What more is there?" Itsuki only clenched (Name)'s arm harder, causing her to wince. Shirabu looked over to Satori, who looked as if he wanted to act, but felt rooted in his place. Shirabu sighed. He promised to help (Name), but could her beau at least try and help?

"She isn't leaving me! This is a big lot of trouble that you have all caused! You got into her tiny head that I'm somehow the bad guy! That after all I've done I'm the person who's wrong! After all this time, she's supposed to be mine!" Shirabu noticed his grip tighten again as (Name) shut her eyes. "I'm done hiding my feelings! I'm done with having to watch that jackass have his way! I'm done with having to be the good big brother! And if it means keeping her away from people like you, I will!"

As quick as the last words came out of his mouth, Itsuki was on the floor. Satori, Hiroto, and (Name) all watched with wide eyes as Shirabu retracted his fist.

"You're too emotional. I'll take you seriously when you can talk without all those emotions clouding your damn tiny mind." He gently placed his hand on (Name)'s back, leading her off. "Lets go. (S/Name)-senpai wants to start dinner."

They group all began to walk off, and as Hiroto was about to compliment Shirabu for his actions, he noticed the setter looked... off.

His eyes were wide, and his heart was racing. He no longer looked cool, he looked about as shocked as anyone that he just punched a guy. Satori had some interesting friends.


	24. Seal it with a kiss

Satori and Hiroto sat on a bench outside the hotel Satori was staying at. The two had been playing catch-up, but Satori was also opening up again. Hiroto acted as a long-needed, unjudging filter Satori so desperately needed.

"So you think she's..."

"She's too good for me. You saw her, you talked to her." Satori ran his hands through his hair before sighing. Hiroto smiled and placed a hand on Satori's shoulder.

"I did see her, but when she talked to me, she wanted to know about you." Satori whipped his head around. "If you ask me, Sa-chan, she's perfect for you."

"Too perfect..." a strand of his hair fell across his face after his hands plop into his lap.

"Maybe, but I don't think the problem is with her. You don't think you're good enough, and you're afraid of holding her back. You're afraid that she's one day going to wake up and realize that you somehow tricked her." Satori looked to the side before sighing.

"... I already have tricked her." Hiroto patiently waits for his friend to feel comfortable again. "You met, (S/Name), right? Well, it started out as all this thing where she was being distant, and (Name) knew why, so she made me promise that I'd be (S/Name)'s friend, and I said..." Satori rested his face in his hands. "God I'm such an ass." Hiroto gently patted Satori's back, encouraging him. "I told her I'd keep that promise if she promised to date me in high school."

"She's cute, I can see why you wouldn't want her to get away." Hiroto reasoned.

"Yeah, but how am I any better than a bad guy?" Satori quipped right back.

"You've tried to push her away, haven't you?" Satori grimaced before looking down and nodding. "She came back, didn't she? So she likes something about you."

"She shouldn't"

"But she does!" Hiroto rubbed Satori's back "Sa-chan, you deserve to be loved, even if it does take you forever to open up to someone." Satori perked his head up to make eye contact with his friend. "And I think (Name)-chan really wants to be that person who loves you." Satori took a deep breath before looking up at the horizon.

After (Name) had been thoroughly scolded by Taichi, she was sulking in the lobby as (S/Name) reprimanded Shirabu for punching someone in the manager's shared suite. (Name) sighed as she began to think of ways to help Shirabu since he was only trying to help her when he sucker-punched Itsuki.

Before she can even start planning, the doors to the hotel open, revealing both Hiroto and Satori. As soon as Satori's eyes locked with (Name)'s, Hiroto gave him an encouraging shove.

"Um..." He furrowed his brow but gave a small smile to (Name) that made her heart race. "I think we need to talk."

After exchanging up to date contact information with Hiroto, Satori and (Name) ventured to Satori's room. (Name) sat on the edge of the bed as Satori sat across from her. He began grabbing and massaging his neck out of anxiety. (Name) stared right at him, nervously waiting for what he had to say.

"So..." He knit his brow together. He knew they needed to talk, but now that he was here, he didn't know what to say. There was so much to talk about, yet never enough words to express it.

"Hey... Satori? Can I make a promise to you?" (Name)'s gentle voice broke him out of his headspace. He raised his curious and tired eyes up to the girl, and was amazed by the sight. Her features were gentle and caring, and her smile created a soft set of dimples in her cheeks. Her eyes were filled with something that he couldn't quite pin, but it filled his chest with warmth. He exhaled a slow breath, waiting on the edge of his seat as to what the angel in front of him would say.

"A... promise?" It had been a while since they had made any sort of promise with one another. It used to be the way (Name) would express her love, too shy to say any sort of words of affection out loud. Had his rejection made her shy once again? Guilt began to eat away at his consciousness.

"Yes." She leaned over, grabbing one of his hands. They were ice cold compared to the soft warmth of hers. The warmth of her hands traveled up his arms to his face.

'When... when did she have such a profound effect on him? When did she become this brave? When did she grow?'

"I want to make a promise to you. You don't have to make a promise if you don't want to, but I want you to know this." Her heart raced despite her sturdy calm tone. Her subtle shakiness was apparent in her hands, but after squeezing Satori's hand, she steadied. "I want to promise you that I'll always care for you." she began, causing Satori to widen his eyes at her. "I promise you that with my choice and my choice alone, I have chosen you, because to me..." The gentle and brave facade began to crack slightly as her face began to redden "You're amazing. You're really cool, you make me laugh, I love how we can talk for hours without getting tired." She took a deep breath before continuing. "I promise to love you, no matter what! Because I really do love you!" She closes her eyes unable to look at him anymore. "I love you! I love you! I love you! I missed you because I love you! I chose you because I love you! I talk with you because I love you! I-I want to improve because- Because I love you! I want to support you because I love you! I love you! I love you!"

The three words she kept repeating over and over again clawed and scratched at the brambles that were so torturously wrapped around his heart, giving each beat a little more room to breathe. She had said those three words to him before, but that fear slowly faded as she continued to speak, listing her reasons for her affections.

"I love you because you can get a bit wild! I love you because of how hard you work! I love you because you energize me when we hang out! I love you because you genuinely care for others close to you!"

The ring finger on Satori's free hand twitched as it slowly began to rise.

"I love you for how you make my day better! I love you for every quirk and every edge!" She continued as Satori's hand gently hovered over her cheek.

"I promise to love you for you! I love you-" Satori's hand interrupted (Name)'s declaration, causing her to open her eyes and look towards Satori. His eyes were filled to the brim with tears as a painful yet happy smile lined his face. How hard had she worked to ensure her feelings would get across? How hard must that have been to rip her chest open and bear it to him, even though the last time she did it, he ran away? How strong was she, to tell off someone she had spent a good chunk of time with and to choose him. How amazing was she, to work hard so that she isn't a burden to the team.

How lucky was he to be in love with her?

He pressed his forehead to hers and whispered to her. "I love you too, I love you."

Letting the raw emotions of the room flare, (Name) showed how brave she was again, and happily pressed her lips against Satori's.

That spark of bravery that caught his interest from the first day was back. That courage that is endless for the ones she loves, and the deep never-ending love she held for him all mixed together to create a moment of respite and bliss.

He really did miss her. He missed everything. He loved how much she worked to improve herself. He loved how smart she was. He loved how much she cares. He loved how cute she got when she pouted. He loved her. He loved her just as much as she loved him.

Grasping some of that confidence and courage that (Name) had just shown him, he pulled her close, wrapping his long arms around her before falling backward onto the soft bed. A smile lined his face as (Name) came tumbling down on him, happy to hear her squeak once again. He missed it. He missed it so much. He missed her. He missed her warmth. He missed her personality.

"Satoriiii!" there it was, the way she elongated parts of his name when she whined. He missed this so much. "You have to be careful!"

"I love you." Was all he could reply with. Even though (Name) had said it first, and then said it what felt like a thousand times, she still wasn't ready for the sudden declaration, as her face turned red. "I have to pay you back for all those 'I love you's' now, so I have to say it whenever!" a glint of mischief lined his eyes once again as he littered kisses along (Name)'s hairline. "I love (Name) (L/Name)! I love her with all my heart!" with each proclamation, a piece of his soul seemed to reignite. "I promise to love her! And when we get old enough, I'm gonna marry her!"

"S-Satori!" (Name) was awestruck. Maybe she had gone too far with her declarations and promises? But at the same time, he was acting like his old self again. He was acting vibrantly, giving affection out openly and nearly overpowering her with it, but it was strangely soothing. It was relieving. He never wore her out, and he was her favorite person.

"... Hey," He soon whispered in a low tone, catching (Name) off guard. She turned her face to his, brushing the tips of their noses together. "I love you so much, that I'm going to never let you go again, is that okay?" He waited patiently for her response, indicating he was trying to be as serious as he could be.

(Name)'s face was unreadable for a few seconds before she let a gentle upturn grace her lips. "I made a promise to love you, and I plan on keeping it. Like all of our promises!"

He sealed the last promise with a kiss.


	25. Requests

Carefully watching over the first years, (Name)'s sharp eyes picked out every weakness in their forms, their gait, their carrying abilities. Her stare scared some of them, as they shutter under an unrelenting analysis.

"Uahh... I was excited to hear Shiratorizawa had two girl managers, but this... is a lot..." one boy says, scratching the back of his head. His brown hair stuck up straight, but not as wildly as Satori's. The boy next to him did his best to ignore the intense stare but failed in many aspects.

"The other one is nicer, right? Have you met her?" He turns his buzzed head to his new teammate.

"I've only seen her here and there, I think she's meant to focus on the first string..." (Name)'s ears perked. What would (S/Name) do in this situation? How would she lead them? (Name) then shook her head, allowing her mind to clear. This isn't about what (S/Name) would do.

"(S/Name)-senpai will care for you all, but for right now I'm looking over you." her soft voice was sturdy, catching the boys' attention. "So do your best, we all are contributing in our own ways." (Name) gave a thumbs up, making her second think her decisions. Was this too dramatic? Did she say the right thing? Her mentor popped into her head for a second along with her flair for the dramatic as the boys stayed silent and stared at her. She was about to sheepishly take back what she said when both of them muttered something under their breath with blush lining their face.

"C-cute..." (Name)'s face began to burn after hearing that, and the boys nodded to each other.

"We'll keep working hard, (Name)-senpai." the boy with a buzzcut replied, taking a mop in his hands to clean the freshly worn floors. His companion followed, giving her a slight wave. (Name) smiled, and then gave herself a victory fist pump. She did it! She encouraged the younger years!

"Wooow! Senpai! That's a big step up for you, huh (Name)-chan?" a familiar voice called to her, causing the blush to once again grace her face. Just as she's about to turn and meet the owner of the voice, a velvety sensation contacts her cheek, and a swift pucker could be heard.

"Satoriiiiii!" (Name) half whined half giggled.

"Have the first-years been treating you okay? Do I need to beat anyone up?" Satori jokes, throwing a few fast jabs into the air to emphasize his point. (Name) laughed and shook her head. 

"No no, I've got it! They haven't been bad, if anything I'm worried about how I'm doing..." (Name) admitted, taking a strand of her hair in between her fingers and twirled it slightly.

"Really? I think you've been doing fine!" Satori encouraged, flashing a smile.

"Thanks, but you're of course going to compliment me!" (Name) sassily stuck out her tongue, causing Satori to take (Name)'s face in his hands.

"Hey! If you don't stick that back in, I'll force it back in!!"

"Gross!" (Name) laughed. Over the break, she and Satori had grown even more comfortable with one another, especially when it felt like no one was watching.

"Double gross..." Shirabu suddenly interjects, causing (Name) to jump. The realization that they were not alone washed over her in a wave of red, only encouraging Satori.

"Oh! What's up Shirabu? You made (Name) all cute and blushy! Look look!"

"Quit that, you're going to kill her...." Shirabu sighed before looking back over at (Name). "I need you to do something for me. I need notes on the team for our upcoming practice match. They're a college team, and we have nothing on them in the video room." Shirabu was to the point, as he didn't want to hang around the love fest for long, and he had other things to attend to, such as syncing up with the new, rather annoying, member of the team.

"Eh? Me? You're having me do this? Why not (S/Name)?" (Name) couldn't help her curiosity, despite knowing that asking Shirabu unnecessary questions was like playing Russian roulette with only a single empty chamber. He cocked his brow and shifted his jaw in an unamused grimace.

"I thought that was your purpose as a manager. If you can't do that, then why the hell are you here?" Shirabu then quickly turned on his heel, but not before muttering one last thing. "... I'm counting on you."

"EHHH?? What was that? Shirabu! You need to be louder!" Satori teased, but Shirabu quickly dashed out. He chuckled now that the boy was gone, and turned his attention back to his beloved (Name). "Looks like he's trusting you a bit more! That's a big step up-" he was cut off by a wondrous sight.

(Name)'s face was one of pure bliss and pride. The gentle way her lashes shadowed her irises made his heart skip a beat. The smile on her face was one he couldn't resist. After giving a bit of a sigh and smile, he quickly leaned over and pecked her lips, causing that delicate bubble of pride to burst.

"SatoriiiiiiI!" she grabbed at her burning cheeks as she whined at him, but he could only let out a giggle in response. He loved it when she said his name like that.

"You were too cute! I had to!" He rationalizes, bringing a subtle smile to (Name)'s face.

"You're... cute..." She mutters, causing Satori to freeze. What did she just say?

What. Did. She. Just. Say?

His mind sputters for a moment, allowing (Name) to slip out of the gym, clipboard in hand.

"I have to get to work Satori, I'll see you later tonight, okay? I promise!" She waved at the frozen redhead.

He simply stood in the gym until the newest member of the first string came upon him, Goshiki. He wasn't yet accustomed to Satori's sudden overloads and was curious as to why his senior suddenly stopped moving.

"Tendou-Senpai?" He questioned, placing the phone he had been fiddling on into his pocket. "Tendou-Senpai," he called again. Still nothing.

Finally, as Goshiki approached, Satori wrapped an arm around Goshiki's neck, and let out a bit of a squeal. Goshiki struggled, but couldn't free himself from the grip of his upperclassman.

"You're so lucky Goshiki!!! You get to have another WHOLE YEAR with the cutest girl in the world!"

"Tendou-Senpai, that hurts!"

"We need to become real good friends so you can keep me updated on her while I'm at college!" Satori schemed, placing a hand on his chin while his opposite arm kept a struggling Goshiki in place.

"Ah, Tendou-senpai! My neck!"

"Ah, She might be too cute to leave though... I'm gonna marry her anyways though, but you know how it is! She's the triple cutest! Absolutely adorable! Ah!"

Whathunk! A volleyball came flying from the entrance of the gym and hit Satori square in the forehead. (S/Name) stood fuming from the source, tapping her foot as she waited for Goshiki to rush over to her.

Ah. Right. Goshiki is one of her babies.

Wrong one to put into a chokehold. 


	26. Black Feathers

“So do you have information on them?” (Name) switched off the hand she held her phone with as she spoke on the phone with her mentor. 

“Sneaky little bunny…” a rustling could be heard in the background as Mikan searched through a stack of CDs. 

“Anything to cut down on time. I have lots of duties as manager, you know!” (Name)’s cheeks puffed as she spoke with her mentor. 

“Brat! Don’t talk to me like I don’t know! Oohh, I should give you a good beating the next time I see you, but I’ll spare you, you should be thankful!” (Name) could feel the dramatic pose of her mentor through the phone. She let her face sink into a flat grimace. “... Hey don’t just go silent on me.” 

“When should I pick up the CD from you?” (Name) clicked her pen and prepared to take down a time and place. 

“I should have a copy made by tomorrow at noon. I need to teach you some things anyway, so come a bit early.” (Name) wrote down the information in her notebook, making sure to double-check it against her schedule. 

“Alright, see you soon.” She said her goodbyes with her dramatic mentor before hanging up the phone, taking in the ease of having a connection to the college scene. 

“Wow, (L/Name)-senpai, you’re so official-sounding!” (Name)’s new roommate called from their shared counter. (Name) nodded, straightening the notes she had taken and put together a bag for the next day. 

“I’m not that official-sounding, am I?” (Name) nervously rubbed the back of her head as her fresh-faced junior let out a soft laugh. 

“You sound super-duper official! Like a woman on a mission!” the roommate then jabbed the air in front of her, making a ‘wapow’ noise to emphasize her point. (Name) let out a nervous laugh before retrieving a drink from their shared fridge. 

“I’m not that official, I’m just doing what I can to help out the team,” 

“It’s still super cool of you (L/Name)-senpai!” The girl commented, causing (Name) to fluster and babble incoherently. “Ah… (L/Name)-senpai is really bad at taking compliments.” 

The next day, (Name) found herself on the familiar college campus of Mikan, her mentor. Mikan waited patiently in the gym as she looked over a file with a familiar blond-haired man. Mikan had introduced him in the past as Tsukishima Akiteru. The pair had not noticed the small rabbit enter and were currently hunched over the manilla folder. 

“So you’re 100% sure that the kid went there?” Mikan commented, piquing (Name)’s interest. 

“Well, from what mom has said, Kei’s been pretty irritated about him, so yeah.” Akiteru’s comment caused Mikan to let out a hum. 

“Um… Mikan-senpai?” (Name)’s tiny voice caused both Akiteru and Mikan to jump and shriek. Papers went flying everywhere, falling around the rabbit-like ominous black feathers. A crow’s call could be heard off in the distance. The black ink on the paper made (Name) feel a sense of anxiety, and she couldn’t place why. 

“DON’T DO THAT, YOU BUNNY BRAT!” Her anxiety was quickly replaced with irritation as Mikan aggressively ruffled (Name)’s head, making her hair a mess. 

“Hello (Name)-chan!” Akiteru greeted brightly. He began picking up papers from the hardwood floors of the gym. 

“So what are you teaching me today?” (Name) attempted to fix her hair from the roughhousing Mikan just subjected to it, but found that knots had formed easily. Mikan sighed as she placed a hand to her chin, closing her eyes for a second. (Name) knew this was for a dramatic effect, and knew not to take things too seriously. 

“Akiteru, I’ll talk to you later, it’s time to teach my student.” Akiteru nodded at Mikan’s words and handed off the freshly thrown papers. 

“So dramatic… what do you even teach her?” 

“Top secret, now Skedaddle!” she pushed the taller boy out, but he put up a fight as an annoying older brother would. 

“Hey! Pushing is not nice! Mikan! Manners!” 

“GET!” she slams the gym door in his face, leaving just (Name) and Mikan left in the open gym. She clapped fake dust off her hands and approached (Name). “We have a lot to talk about.” 

“Really? Is there something about the college team we’re going up against I should know about?” (Name) hypothesized, but Mikan shook her head. She pushed her bangs back, allowing her scar to show. 

“No. I’m teaching you about something else today. I’m teaching about evaluating threats and finding where they may come from.” Mikan then glanced back at the folder with a solemn gaze. (Name) was quick to pick up on the fact that this drama was real. “I made a mistake. I should have had you evaluate the next generation before they even came into the high school scene. I was naive, and I want to apologize to you.” Mikan let her bangs fall as she beckoned (Name) to come closer. “It could be my own anxieties and worries, but from what I’ve seen…” Mikan recalled the pure athleticism she saw a few months before. She recalled the way that a king had dominated the court. “I think you need to keep an eye out for a potential dark horse.” 

(Name) blinked a few times before accepting the file from her mentor. “What do you mean a dark horse?” 

“An upset. Something that comes raging through the competition like a storm, something that’s completely unheard of unless each piece has been properly raised and the right circumstances come about. It’s highly unlikely that it will come about, but my gut has rarely led me astray.” Mikan began to play with her bangs again, twirling them in an attempt to calm down. (Name) then looked at the file in her hands, and tilted her hands. The name on the file was one she had heard about before long ago in her research. 

“Karasuno? The flightless crows?” upon speaking their derogatory nickname, (Name) had a peek inside the folder. She was met by the profile of a boy a year below her. 

“That’s true that’s what they’re called now, but it hasn’t always been that way. They used to have a legendary coach, and have been known to take Miyagi by storm in the past.” Mikan informed, allowing (Name) time in between thoughts to fully absorb the file. “And that file your holding has all the information that is officially on them, but what I saw…” another crow loudly squalls outside. “I’m worried about their potential.” 

(Name)’s nose twitched, She understood Mikan’s concern. “What did you see?” 

“Raw athleticism, and a love for the game. I wouldn’t be concerned about it right now, but if the name ‘Karasuno’ begins ringing in those ears of yours, begin digging, little bunny.” Mikan dropped her hands from her fringe and walked towards the back of the gym. “I’m gonna go get you that material now, but heed what I say. I don’t feel right about that team.” (Name) was surprised at the maturity of Mikan. Usually her drama loving self would shine through by now, but Mikan really cared about this. (Name) took one more glance down at the folder in her hand. Karasuno. 

Black feathers began to invade the recesses of her mind. She would not forget their Nyx sheen. 


End file.
